Russia Urges Users Off Apple After VK Apps Pulled From App Store

Apple removed applications belonging to VK, the Russian social-media and technology group, from the Russian segment of its App Store. The removal expanded over the course of June 25 to roughly 16 of the holding's applications, including VK Video, VK Messenger and the social network Odnoklassniki, with the flagship VKontakte application taken down about an hour after the others, the Moscow Times reported. Apple said it removed the applications to comply with sanctions. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was not the first time Apple had removed Russian applications, according to the Russian outlet Ostorozhno Novosti, and he advised active users to switch to Android devices and domestic systems. RIA Novosti reported that Peskov also said relevant agencies would contact Apple about the removals.

The removal continues a steady separation of Russia's digital life from Western technology platforms since 2022. Moscow has pushed citizens toward domestic operating systems and applications, framing dependence on Apple and Google services as a strategic vulnerability.

The episode shows how the global internet is partitioning along geopolitical lines. As platforms apply Western policy and sanctions, sanctioned states accelerate the construction of parallel digital ecosystems, reducing Western leverage but also fragmenting the technology market.