Kremlin demands explanation after Apple removes Russian social network VK from App Store

The removal

On 25 June 2026, Apple pulled a wide range of VK apps from the App Store without prior notice. Among the missing titles are the social networks VKontakte and Odnoklassniki, the messaging, video and music services VK Messenger, VK Video and VK Music, the dating app VK Dating, the Mail.ru email client and the content platform Dzen. VK said the move was made “without warning or explanation” and called it “completely unjustified and unacceptable”.

Through its actions, Apple is restricting Russian users' access to popular services used by tens of millions of people every day: social networks, messaging apps, video platforms, email and educational products.

Already installed applications continue to work, but iPhone users will no longer receive push notifications and can no longer download updates. The apps remain accessible on Android devices.

Kremlin response

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the government expects Apple to clarify its decision and threatened a wider re‑evaluation of the relationship. “We will address the matter directly with the corporation itself and demand an explanation,” he said, adding that if none is given, “we will need to draw conclusions accordingly regarding the continuation of any cooperation with this company.” Peskov also advised Russian users to switch to Android or “our systems.”

If such explanations are not provided, we will need to draw conclusions accordingly regarding the continuation of any cooperation with this company.

The Ministry of Digital Development called the decision “politically motivated” and an act of “unfair competition,” noting that Apple had ignored the social functions of the apps, including public‑warning systems for emergencies. The ministry has appealed to the Federal Antimonopoly Service.

Sanctions tangle

VK insists it has never been placed under any sanctions list and that American and international lawyers have repeatedly confirmed its clean legal status. However, its chief executive, Vladimir Kiriyenko, is under sanctions from the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom. He is the son of Sergei Kiriyenko, a senior Kremlin adviser and first deputy chief of staff to President Vladimir Putin.

That distinction, between a sanctioned executive and an unsanctioned corporate entity, is at the heart of the dispute. Apple has not publicly linked Thursday’s sweep to sanctions, but earlier this month it told BBC News Russian that it had removed VK’s state‑backed Max messenger to comply with sanctions, without specifying which ones.

Precedent and consequences

The removal of the Max messenger in early June had an immediate effect on state‑backed media. RIA Novosti lost 55.6% of its audience, while viewership for pro‑Kremlin commentator Vladimir Solovyov’s channel collapsed from 36.3 million to 19.6 million views. These numbers illustrate how dependent Russian state propaganda has become on Apple’s ecosystem.

This is not the first time VK apps have vanished from the App Store. In September 2022, Apple removed VKontakte after British sanctions were imposed, only to restore it less than a month later. The earlier episode shows that such removals can be reversed, and the current standoff may therefore be another round in a longer negotiation.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin has for years been pushing Russians toward domestic internet services. The Max messenger is pre‑installed on all phones sold in Russia, and VK operates its own app marketplace, RuStore, launched in 2022 as a sanctioned‑proof alternative to the App Store and Google Play. Sergei Boyarsky, chairman of the State Duma’s Information Policy Committee, called the removals a “deliberate attempt to create inconvenience for the entire country” and said Apple was “becoming a tool of information war.”

We are witnessing a company losing face, becoming a tool of information war. Apparently they cannot forgive us our digital successes.