VK Group, the developers of VKontakte and related services, released its publication own statement complaining, “Apple removed VK applications from the App Store without any warning or explanation… VK has never been sanctioned or included in the sanctions list, which is confirmed by numerous legal opinions of international and US counsel. Apple has long had these official legal opinions and all relevant information. Nevertheless, Apple unilaterally removed these actions without prior warning to Russian users… and it is unacceptable.” (Translated from Russian via Google Translate.)
VK Group also emphasized that its Android apps “remain fully functional, including updates, notifications and other features, and are available through RuStore, Google Play, Huawei AppGallery, Samsung Store, Xiaomi Store and official product websites.”
This seems to be the Kremlin’s new line. Peskov’s views were broadcast by the Russian Telegram channel quoted him yesterday He said that Apple might not be “trusted as a commercial service provider” and that the blocks were part of “Apple’s decisions, which are, to put it mildly, strange.” (Translated from Russian via Google Translate.)
Still, despite his posturing, Peskov knows the score; There is little Russia can do about the situation. So he ended with an appeal to the users. “There’s always an immediate solution,” he said, “switch to Android, switch to our systems, switch to our equivalent service, and continue using the services you love.”
