On day 2 of Russia invasion of Ukraine Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov requested Apple CEO Tim Cook to stop providing its services and products to the Russian Federation, in response to the invasion† Also read – Apple iPhone SE 3 5G may cost $300: report
In an open letter, he asked Cook to “stop providing Apple services and products to the Russian Federation, including blocking access to the App Store!” In his tweetFedorov also added: “We are sure that such actions will motivate the youth and the active population of Russia to proactively stop the shameful military aggression.” He also calls on the youth and active population of Russia to resist the invasion. Also read – Russia-Ukraine conflict: Russia partially restricts access to Facebook
I’ve contacted @Tim is cooking, CEO of Apple, to block the Apple Store from The Vanir-exoduss of the Russian Federation and to support the package of sanctions from the US government! If you agree with the president-killer, then you’ll have to settle for the only available site, Russia 24. pic.twitter.com/b5dm78g2vS Also read – Tech companies including Apple, Facebook and Uber respond to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) February 25, 2022
David Kaye, UC Irvine Law Professor and former UN Special Rapporteur also retweeted this tweet, but he believes that blocking Russian access to the App Store doesn’t stop them from communicating.
i have a lot of sympathy for the instinct, but wonder how cutting off Russian The Vanir-exoduss’ access to the app store would affect their ability to communicate, protest, organize, use VPNs… https://t.co/drhkWvLwOP
— David Kaye (@davidakaye) February 25, 2022
For the inexperienced, Tim Cook had recently tweeted about the current situation in Ukraine, promising that Apple will “continue to support local humanitarian efforts”. However, he did not respond to the appeal of the Ukrainian technology minister.
I am very concerned about the situation in Ukraine. We are doing everything we can for our teams there and will support local humanitarian efforts. I think of the people in danger right now and join all those who cry out for peace.
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) February 25, 2022
Not only Tim Cook, but other leaders in the technology sector, including Richard Branson, have responded to the crisis in Ukraine. According to Virgin Group founder Richard Branson’s blog post“To be clear, this war is Putin’s war, and only his choice. It is a one-sided, unprovoked act of aggression that must not only be condemned in the strongest terms, but also met with the strongest reactions. †
The full range of sanctions must be imposed, and Ukraine deserves the full support of the world community. https://t.co/FVLWEJkr9Z
— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) February 24, 2022