Apple Bans Sales of Its Products in Crimea (Report)

Apple has reportedly banned sales of its products in Crimea following sanctions imposed on Russia by the U.S. government to be implemented by Feb. 1.

“In accordance with new sanctions against the autonomous republic of Crimea, adopted by the U.S. government on Dec. 19, you are not to sell Apple products and/or provide services related to Apple products in the autonomous republic of Crimea,” read a letter reportedly sent out by Apple’s Russian office to its authorized dealers quoted by the online newspaper Gazeta.ru.

Apple did not reply to The Hollywood Reporter’s request for comment.

Meanwhile, Kirill Filippov, head of Crimea-based electronics chain Atrium, one of Apple’s few authorized dealers in Crimea, was quoted by the news agency RIA Novosti as saying that his company was informed about the ban and will now rely on other suppliers.

According to the RIA Novosti report, iTunes music store was still accessible in Crimea on Thursday, but apparently Crimean users won’t be able to access it as of Feb. 1.

Earlier, Apple unilaterally canceled contracts with Crimean software developers and removed their apps from AppStore.