By
Chimamanda U. Martha
May 10th, 2024
With no idea how long the entire war will last, the suspension of its services by Apple is at best indefinite, and it mimics other companies whose operations in Russia have also been suspended for the time being.
American multinational tech company Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is the latest global firm to have stopped its business operation and product sales in Russia as the ongoing war with Ukraine intensifies. As reported by CNBC, the company has updated its product status on Russia’s storefront as “Unavailable” both for purchases and deliveries in the country.
Additionally, Apple confirmed that it has unlisted Russian state-controlled media outlets including RT News and Sputnik News from its App Store around the world. However, the company said Russian residents will still be able to access the media platforms despite the sanctions.
“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,” an Apple spokesperson said in a statement.
While the war in Ukraine may be affecting the lives of Ukrainians the most, a whole lot of other people and organizations with operations in Ukraine are notably suffering. With the disruption of economic activities, companies, including Apple, face a lot of logistics challenges, and beyond the adherence to sanctions as being meted out by world governments, halting its operations in Russia as a deterrent comes off as the best way to go.
With no idea how long the entire war will last, the suspension of its services by Apple is at best indefinite, and it mimics other companies whose operations in Russia have also been suspended for the time being.
Apple Trails Mainstream Firms in Its Russia Crackdown
Should Russia be paying attention to the global companies like Apple moving out of its shores, it most certainly must have rescinded its position to pursue a more amicable solution to the Ukrainian war.
The move on Russia by Apple trails the earlier suspension of sales by Dell Technologies Inc (NYSE: DELL) who announced its own business operations halt last week. Additionally, from Mastercard Inc (NYSE: MA) to Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) and even Ethereum-based mining pool, FlexPool, the tally of firms exiting Russia is growing by the day.
With the combination of sanctions from the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union amongst others bordering on Russian bank’s alienation from the SWIFT Network, as well as the blockage of Russia’s foreign reserves, the general expectation remains to see whether these sanctions will be enough to get President Vladimir Putin to stand down.
Pending when this will be achieved, Russians have a very closed economy to manage.