Ukraine to Apple: Stop Your Products and Services for Russia!
Deputy Prime Minister of the Ukrainian Government, Mykhailo Fedorov, sent an open letter to Tim Cook, the current CEO of the Cupertino-based technology giant Apple, asking him to stop its products and services in Russia and ban Russians from accessing the App Store.
In his open letter, Fedorov says he asked for Apple’s support to stop providing Apple services and products to users in Russia during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
I appeal to you, and I am sure that you will not only hear, but also do everything possible to protect Ukraine, Europe and, finally, the entire democratic world from bloody authoritarian aggression. Block access to the App Store to stop supplying Apple services and products to the Russian Federation!
We are confident that such actions will motivate the youth and active population of Russia to proactively stop the shameful military aggression.
Apple has a dedicated website in Russia where it sells iPhones, Macs and other devices, and it also has a dedicated App Store for Russia. The United States has already imposed sanctions that prevent companies from exporting certain products to Russia.
Yesterday afternoon, Apple CEO Tim Cook said he was “deeply concerned” by the situation in Ukraine and that Apple “will support local humanitarian efforts.”
While the App Store continues its operations in Russia, Apple Pay also participated in the sanctions imposed on banks. According to Business Insider, five major Russian banks can no longer use “Apple Pay” or Google Pay services.