Apple halts product sales in Russia, bars RT & Sputnik from App Store

Deeply concerned about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Apple has halted sales of all of its products in Russia. The tech giant has also removed media outlets RT and Sputnik from the App Store.

Apple said that it has "stopped all exports into our sales channel in the country" in response to the Russian invasion, adding that it will continue to evaluate the situation.

"We have taken a number of actions in response to the invasion. We have paused all product sales in Russia. Last week, we stopped all exports into our sales channel in the country. Apple Pay and other services have been limited," the company said in a statement late on Tuesday.

The company said that RT News and Sputnik News are no longer available for download from the App Store outside Russia.

"We have disabled both traffic and live incidents in Apple Maps in Ukraine as a safety and precautionary measure for Ukrainian citizens," said Apple.

Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine, Mykhailo Fedorov, last week urged Apple CEO Tim Cook to stop supplying products and services to Russian users as a response to its invasion of Ukraine.

In an open letter posted on Twitter, Fedorov said he has contacted Cook to block the App Store for people in Russia.

"I've contacted @tim_cook, Apple's CEO, to block the Apple Store for citizens of the Russian Federation, and to support the package of US government sanctions!," he said.

"I appeal to you to stop supplying Apple services and products to the Russian Federation, including blocking access to the App Store!" added Fedorov who is also the Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine.

Fedorov had asked Cook to stop App Store services for Russian users too.