Image Source: Visual China

BEIJING, March 2 (TMTPOST) — Multinational tech giant Apple confirmed on Tuesday that it has halted all product sales from its online website and suspended Apple Pay on Apple devices in Russia.

Customers in Russia can no longer purchase Apple products from Apple’s Russian site. Customers who attempted to make a purchase on Apple’s Russian store were informed that “delivery is currently unavailable” when trying to add a product to the cart.

In addition, Apple has also removed the mobile applications of Russia Today and Sputnik from its mobile application marketplace App Store. It is worth noting that Google has also blocked a number of Russian media app from Google Play in Europe.

Apple’s decision to suspend sales in Russia came after Ukrainian vice prime minister Mykhailo Fedorov asked Apple CEO Tim Cook to stop device sales and block App Store access in Russia.

The access to App Store remains available in Russia.

Apple announced in a statement that it has stopped all exports into the sales channel in Russia and disabled traffic and live incidents in Apple Maps in Ukraine as a way to protect Ukrainian citizens.

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

Apple CEO Cook explained the situation in a letter to employees and provided information on how Apple employees can donate to help provide help for Ukrainians. Apple will match all donations at a rate of 2:1.

Tech giants are using their channels to boycott Russia and support Ukraine. Meta, Facebook’s parent company for example, has restricted Russian state-owned media from advertising on its social media platforms and prevented them from making profits from advertising.

See also: European Politicians Urge Tech Giants to Limit Russian Media on Social Media