Apple has now stopped selling physical products, including iPhones, in Russia after the country invaded Ukraine.
This is Apple's latest move to "punish" Russia for its invasion. Previously they also restricted the use of Apple Pay in Russia, and pulled a number of Russian news apps from the App Store.
In an official statement, Apple said they stopped all exports to all sales channels in Russia, which was their response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
They also admitted that they would continue to evaluate the development of the situation and also communicate with the governments of the affected countries, as quoted from The Verge, Wednesday (2/3/2022).
Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov sent an open letter to Apple. In the letter he asked Apple to stop the sale and availability of all its products in Russia, including the App Store.
According to Fedorov, this step is important to motivate the younger generation in Russia, which is also an active population, to proactively support the end of the ongoing military aggression.
Apple did not mention anything about blocking the App Store in Russia, but they have taken preventive steps from a number of their services, including Apple Maps. That is turning off traffic data and accident reports, just as Google does on Google Maps.
"We are deeply concerned about Russia's invasion of Ukraine and will support all those who have suffered as a result of the violence. We support all humanitarian efforts, provide assistance to address the refugee issue, and do all we can to support our teams in the country," Apple wrote in a statement.