Ukrainian leader calls on Tim Cook to block Russian users from the App Store

Photo by Pierre Crom/Getty Images

The Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine, Mykhailo Fedorov, called on Apple to stop supplying products and services to Russian users as a response to the country's ongoing invasion.

Fedorov wrote in the letter that he wanted to stop supplying Apple services and products to the Russian Federation.

I’ve contacted @tim_cook, Apple's CEO, to block the Apple Store for citizens of the Russian Federation, and to support the package of US government sanctions! If you agree to have the president-killer, then you will have to be satisfied with the only available site Russia 24. pic.twitter.com/b5dm78g2vS

— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) February 25, 2022

Fedorov said that such actions will motivate youth and active population of Russia to stop military aggression.

According to Pentagon estimates, more than 50,000 Russian troops have entered Ukraine, and satellite imagery suggests an attack on the capital of Kyiv may be imminent. Russian forces took the site of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster on Thursday, raising concerns about the management of radioactive materials there. The fighting has caused tens of thousands of Ukrainians to flee their homes as refugees, according to the United Nations.

On Thursday, the White House issued a broad package of sanctions in response to the invasion, including measures that prevent Apple and other US companies from providing services to the Russian military or ministry of defense. Fedorov wants the company to stop service to the country at large.

Apple didn't respond to the request for comment.