Russian tech company VK sues Apple in Moscow
If VK wins and Apple does not comply, three Apple entities could face 58 million rubles in daily penalties tied to VKontakte, VK Music and Odnoklassniki.
laupäev, 22. august 2026 17:00
VK sued Apple in Moscow on Aug. 19, seeking the return of its apps to the App Store and the restoration of user notifications, UNITED24 Media reported, citing Russian Moscow Arbitration Court records.
VK is asking the court to order Apple to restore several services. If Apple fails to comply with a ruling, VK wants penalties of 58 million rubles a day, or about $696,000, imposed on Apple Rus LLC, US-based Apple Inc. and Ireland-based Apple Distribution International Ltd.
The proposed penalties would be split among three services. VK seeks 50 million rubles a day, or about $600,000, for VKontakte, 5 million rubles, or roughly $60,000, for VK Music, and 3 million rubles, or about $36,000, for Odnoklassniki.
VK asked for the daily fines to begin on the sixth day after the court issues its full ruling if Apple does not comply. Apple removed VKontakte, VK Messenger, VK Video, Zen, Mail Cloud, Mail, Skillbox and Youla from the App Store, attributing the removals to sanctions.
The removals followed the European Union’s decision to sanction VK and its subsidiary Communication Platform LLC, the developer and operator of Russia’s state-backed Max messaging service. The EU said the companies were involved in activities enabling surveillance of citizens, censorship and the identification of people opposed to Russian government policies.
VK applications later also disappeared from Google Play. The Kremlin criticized Apple, saying the move called into question its “reliability as a provider of commercial services,” and spokesperson Dmitry Peskov demanded an explanation from the company.
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