Kremlin demands explanation from Apple over removal of VK apps
Kremlin officials pressed Apple after 16 VK apps vanished from the App Store, escalating a fight over sanctions, platform control and who sets the rules in hostile markets.
Apple removed 16 apps tied to the state-controlled VK group from the App Store, and the Kremlin demanded an explanation. VK said the removals cut users off from products used by tens of millions of people every day, from social networking and messaging to video, music, email and education.
Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said Russian authorities would “address the matter directly” with Apple and seek an explanation. If Apple did not provide one, he said officials would draw conclusions about continuing cooperation with the company. He also suggested frustrated users could move to Android devices, where VK’s apps remained available.
Russia’s Digital Development Ministry called the move “politically motivated” and asked the Federal Antimonopoly Service to review Apple’s decision. VK said Apple had removed the apps without warning or explanation, even though VK was not under U.S. sanctions. VK’s press service also said Apple had long possessed the legal opinions and other information it had provided.
The dispute fits a broader tightening around foreign technology platforms that began after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. VK is central to Moscow’s digital strategy and is overseen by a corporate structure that has drawn Western sanctions: its chief executive, Vladimir Kiriyenko, has been sanctioned by the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States. VK’s ecosystem includes VK Video, VK Messenger, VK Music, VK Dating, Dzen and Odnoklassniki, all of which were among the apps affected.
VK said the removals also touched socially significant functions, including alerts about emergency risks and incidents.
Apple removed Russia’s state-backed MAX messenger from the App Store earlier in June, after launching in 2025 as a VK-developed product. Apple also pulled several disguised Russian banking apps, including one that had climbed into the top three of the U.S. App Store before it was taken down.
VK said its video service had 42.2 million daily users in January.
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