Apple Says It Has Stopped All Product Sales in Russia

“We 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,” Apple AAPL -1.16% said Tuesday. “We are supporting humanitarian efforts, providing aid for the unfolding refugee crisis, and doing all we can to support our teams in the region.”

Silicon Valley’s big technology companies have been facing greater pressure to cut off services and content to Russia. On Friday, Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov asked Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook to stop supplying Apple products and services to Russia, including halting access to the App Store.

The App Store remained operational in Russia. During the third quarter of last year, Apple held 15% of the smartphone market in Russia behind Samsung and Xiaomi, according to researcher IDC.

Last week, Apple said, it stopped the export of its products to Russian sales channels. Apple Pay has also been limited in Russia and it also disabled traffic and live incidents from its Maps in Ukraine, the company said.

In addition to Apple, Mr. Fedorov had targeted other tech giants, including a request to Elon Musk that his rocket company Space Exploration Technologies Corp. send its Starlink satellite-based internet service to Ukraine. Mr. Musk quickly obliged.

Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube has restricted access to RT and other Russian channels in Ukraine following the request of the government there. Google also disabled its live traffic data in Ukraine on Google Maps.

Dell Technologies Inc. also moved to suspend product sales in Russia. The company said Tuesday it was monitoring the situation to determine its next steps and working to assist employees affected by the conflict.

Write to Tim Higgins at [email protected]