As of April 1, payment processing is no longer available for purchases made across the App Store and other Apple services in Russia, according to Apple.
In a new support document, Apple said new purchases, in-app purchases, and subscription renewals are no longer available in Russia unless a user already has funds in their Apple Account balance, which can continue to be used.
This change affects the following services and items:
- Apple Arcade
- Apple Fitness+
- Apple Music
- Apple Podcasts subscriptions
- Apple One
- App Store purchases and subscriptions
- Apple TV purchases and subscriptions
- iTunes Store purchases
- iCloud+
- Ringtone & Tone purchases
Apple said apps and content that users previously bought will remain available, and it ensured that iCloud data will remain accessible after an iCloud+ subscription ends. More details are available in Apple's support document.
Apple reportedly took this action in response to an order from the Russian government, which allegedly hopes that the lost services revenue from Russian users will pressure the company to add some popular Russian apps back to the App Store, after those apps were removed due to sanctions arising from Russia's war with Ukraine. The order would presumably end if Apple were to make those apps available again.
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