Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Apple has paused sales of its physical products in Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, according to a statement from the company. This is Appleâs latest step after limitations arrived for Apple Pay in Russia, and it pulled some Russian news apps from the App Store outside of the country.
In its statement, which you can read in full below, Apple says that it âstopped all exports into our sales channel in the countryâ last week in response to the violence. It says that it will âcontinue to evaluate the situationâ and that itâs communicating with the governments of affected countries.
Last week, Ukrainian vice prime minister Mykhailo Fedorov published an open letter to Apple, asking the company to cut Russia off from its products, services, and App Store. In the letter, he says that he is âsure that such actions will motivate youth and active population of Russia to proactively stop the disgraceful military aggression.â
While Appleâs Russian store is still online, products like the iPhone and Mac are listed as currently unavailable.
âWe are deeply concerned about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and stand with all of the people who are suffering as a result of the violence. We are supporting humanitarian efforts, providing aid for the unfolding refugee crisis, and doing all we can to support our teams in the region.
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. RT News and Sputnik News are no longer available for download from the App Store outside Russia. And we have disabled both traffic and live incidents in Apple Maps in Ukraine as a safety and precautionary measure for Ukrainian citizens.
We will continue to evaluate the situation and are in communication with relevant governments on the actions we are taking. We join all those around the world who are calling for peace.â
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