With Apple having previously stopped Apple Pay users in Russia from being able to use the service, it was only a matter of time before Apple stopped selling products in Russia too, as the war has escalated, and that has now happened.

The screenshot Paczkowski shared from Apple says: "We are deeply concerned about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and stand with all of the people who are suffering as a result of the violence. We are supporting humanitarian efforts, providing aid for the unfolding refugee crisis, and doing all we can to support our teams in the region.

"We have taken a number of actions in response to the invasion. We have paused all product sales in Russia. Last week, we stopped all exports into our sales channel in the country. Apple Pay and other services have been limited. RT News and Sputnik News are no longer available for download from the App Store outside Russia. And we have disabled both traffic and live incidents in Apple Maps in Ukraine as a safety and precautionary measure for Ukrainian citizens.

"We will continue to evaluate the situation and are in communication with relevant governments on the actions we are taking. We join all those around the world who are calling for peace."

Google has also stopped users in Russia from making additions to Google Maps as it was feared it was being used by the Russian military to co-ordinate attacks in Ukraine.

"We have paused all product sales in Russia. Last week, we stopped all exports into our sales channel in the country. Apple Pay and other services have been limited. RT News and Sputnik News are no longer available for download from the App Store outside Russia." https://t.co/zVh60Pls6N

— John Paczkowski (@JohnPaczkowski) March 1, 2022

Meanwhile, Facebook, now known as Meta, has also made the decision to demote content from Russian state-controlled media outlets from Facebook pages and Instagram accounts.

2/ FB Pages/IG accounts: Over the past several days, we began demoting content from Facebook pages and Instagram accounts from Russian state-controlled media outlets, and we are making them harder to find across our platforms.

— Nathaniel Gleicher (@ngleicher) March 1, 2022