Apple Stops Selling Its Products In Russia In Response To Invasion Of Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been declared a war criminal by US politicians as his country’s invasion of Ukraine continues.

Some of the biggest tastemakers in fashion are making bold statements from their words to changes in their business operations to condemn Russia's war on Ukraine. Just days after Russia first invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, Milan and Paris — two fashion capitals of the world — held their annual fashion weeks with attention-grabbing shows that offered a first look at their fall/winter 2022-2023 collections.

Petrol prices in the UK could reach as high as £2.40 a litre this year due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Joe Biden announced on Friday that the U.S. and its allies are moving to revoke Russia’s “most favored nation” trade status following its invasion of Ukraine.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorWhile businesses across the globe have been pulling out of Russia, many have wondered why the music industry largely has not been following suit. While sanctions have severely hampered Russia’s global business and the music industry is a very small part of that business, the optics on continuing to work in the country are not good.CISAC, the global confederation of authors societies such as ASCAP and PRS, has launched a new support fund dedicated to helping the victims of the war in Ukraine, although it stopped short of suspending operations with Russia, as Universal Music Group and many other companies have.

Christopher Vourlias Before the Russian army launched an invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, French war correspondent Loup Bureau was embedded in Donbass, the restive borderland in Eastern Ukraine, which since 2014 has been the site of an ongoing conflict between Russian-backed separatist groups and Ukrainian government forces.Reports were circulating of an impending Russian attack. Bureau, who had already spent time in the region while shooting his feature-length documentary “Trenches” – screening next week at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival – expected it to be a localized skirmish.

Petrol prices have soared to a new record high in the UK as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues.

Take-Two Interactive has stopped its business with the Russian market amid the country’s invasion of Ukraine.According to GamesIndustry.biz all game sales, marketing and services have been pulled from Russia and Belarus. According to Newzoo data shared with GamesIndustry.biz, Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto 5 – which is owned by Take-Two – is the third most popular game in Russia based on monthly users.Take-Two’s decision follows the Russian invasion of Ukraine that began on February 24 and sees the company joining the likes of EA, Microsoft, CD Projekt Red and Epic Games in its decision to stop market dealings with Russia.Take-Two vice president of corporate communications Alan Lewis said: “We have watched recent events unfold in Ukraine with concern and sadness.”“After significant consideration, last week, we decided to stop new sales, installations, and marketing support across all our labels in Russia and Belarus at this time.”The Nintendo eShop has also stopped processing payments and gone into what is being called “maintenance mode” in Russia, although as of publication it is unclear if this is Nintendo’s sole doing or that of a third party.Elsewhere, Take-Two has been served a lawsuit concerning the use of loot boxes in its NBA 2K games, with the plaintiff seeking £3.7million in damages.The case says that the “defendant’s unfair, deceptive and unlawful practices, including illegal gambling practices, deceive, mislead and harm consumers”.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaNetflix has suspended its service in Russia to protest the country’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The streaming service previously announced this week that it would pause all future projects and acquisitions from Russia, joining a growing list of companies that have cut ties with the country. Netflix had four Russian originals in the works, including a crime thriller series directed by Dasha Zhuk, which was shooting and has been put on hold.

Stevie Wonder is taking a stance against Russia in the war against Ukraine.

Pub chain JD Wetherspoon says it will no longer sell Russian beer due to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.

NEW YORK -- Cable news viewership jumped during Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with Fox News Channel leading the way and CNN showing the most dramatic increases.CNN, Fox and MSNBC collectively averaged 6.4 million viewers in prime time between the start of the war last Wednesday and Sunday night. That's up from their January average of 4 million, the Nielsen company said.For the full day between Wednesday and Sunday, Fox averaged 2.32 million viewers, up 64% from the quieter news month of January.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorApple announced several actions it has taken in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including temporarily halting all product sales in Russia.The company also has disabled both traffic and live incidents in Apple Maps in Ukraine “as a safety and precautionary measure for Ukrainian citizens.”Last week, according to Apple, the company stopped all exports into its sales channel in Russia. It also has limited access to Apple Pay and other services in the country.

Franz Ferdinand have cancelled their upcoming shows in Russia following the country’s invasion of Ukraine last week.The Scottish band have become the latest act to axe their planned Russian gigs in the wake of the widely condemned Vladimir Putin-ordered military assault, with Yungblud, Green Day and the Russian rapper Oxxxymiron also scrapping shows in recent days.After speaking out in support of the “open and welcoming” people of Kyiv last week, Franz Ferdinand have confirmed this morning (March 1) that their scheduled gigs in St Petersburg and Moscow on June 29 and July 1 will no longer take place.The band said in a statement that “the only reason for this is the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian state”.“We love Russia. This great country has inspired our band through its art and literature and since we first played there 17 years ago, we have built a rich and deep relationship with our Russian fans,” the band said.“Since Thursday morning [February 24], we have spoken to many of our friends in Russia via social media and have encountered unanimous opposition to this violence and solidarity with our Ukrainian friends.

Hollywood hasn’t been the most bullish about taking an action that would dent its bottom line, but Disney today has taken the bold move of pulling its theatrical releases from Russia temporarily in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is unsettling for the world, but it can be easy to forget the eyes and ears of the little people in our lives watching on in terror.