As Russian troops bombed and invaded Ukraine, NATO members heightened sanctions and private businesses cut ties.
Ukranian officials want more, with Mykhailo Fedorov, minister of digital transformation, requesting that Apple block Russia from using the App store and to stop supplying the country with products.
“The whole world is repelling the aggressor through the imposition of sanctions — the enemy must suffer significant losses. But we need your support — in 2022, modern technology is perhaps the best answer to the tanks, multiple rocket launchers (hrad) and missiles,” Fedorov wrote, apparently referring to BM-21 Grad truck-mounted rocket launchers.
Apple didn’t immediately respond to The Chronicle’s request for comment. On Thursday, CEO Tim Cook wrote that the company was “supporting local humanitarian efforts” and he was “joining all those calling for peace.”
Separately, the Central Bank of Russia said customers of major Russian banks hit with sanctions won’t be able to use Apple Pay or Google Pay. Sanctions could also potentially affect Google’s YouTube, which has major Russian channels.
Here’s what countries have imposed sanctions and companies that have cut ties with Russia.
• The U.S. has been a leader in denouncing Russia’s actions and warning the world before the invasion began.
The White House said sanctions include blocking tech exports including “semiconductors, telecommunication, encryption security, lasers, sensors, navigation, avionics and maritime technologies” in hopes of curtailing Russia’s military and airplanes.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, architect of the war, and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are being personally sanctioned, along with members of the Russian national security team, the White House said on Friday.
Eurovision, the cross-continent singing contest, has barred Russia from being part of the popular competition after its invasion of Ukraine. It’s among a growing list of nations, companies and organizations severing ties with Russia or Russian properties.
Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/TNS
Sanctions on 13 Russian state-owned companies will block them from obtaining financing in the U.S., and the largest Russian banks — Sberbank and VTB — have been blocked from direct access to the U.S. dollar, though some exceptions were made to allow payments for energy, a key Russian export.
The U.S. is also targeting “two significant Belarusian state-owned banks, nine defense firms, and seven regime-connected official and elites” after Belarus aided the Russian assault.
• The United Kingdom is sanctioning 100 individuals and entities and freezing their assets, including “all the major manufacturers that support Putin’s war machine,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Thursday. It is also personally sanctioning Putin and Lavrov.
VTB’s assets have been frozen and Russian companies are banned from fundraising in the U.K. Russian airline Aeroflot is banned in the region. The U.K. is moving to ban exports of some technology to Russian next week and targeting Belarus.
• The European Union has targeted the Russian finance, technology and energy sectors, limiting exports and banning trade financing. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said 70% of Russian banks and state-owned companies have been targeted.
On Friday, officials also said they would personally sanction Putin and Lavrov, freezing their assets in the European Union.
The E.U. is also seeking to block deposits by Russian “elites” in Europe.
Russia remains a member of the key SWIFT financial system, and some European countries oppose its removal. The system allows over 11,000 global institutions to communicate about transactions and removing Russia would severely limit its role in the global economy, but could also limit Europe’s access to energy and food from the country.
• Japan is sanctioning three Russian banks: VEB, Promsvyazbank and Bank Rossiya. It is also sanctioning individuals that it didn’t name.
• Australia is “imposing further sanctions on oligarchs, whose economic weight is of strategic significance to Moscow and over 300 members of the Russian Duma, their parliament,” said Prime Minister Scott Morrison. The country is also working with the U.S. to extend sanctions on Belarus.
• New Zealand is cutting trade with Russia including blocking exports to the Russian military and imposing travel bans on Russian officials.
• Taiwan, a major semiconductor manufacturer, has also joined sanctions.
• Delta Air Lines is suspending its partnership with Aeroflot. Soccer team Manchester United, which is sponsored by Aeroflot, is also cutting ties.
• The UEFA’s soccer championship was moved from St. Petersburg to Paris. Water sports group FINA canceled a water polo game between Russian and Greece in St. Petersburg, and a synchronized swimming and diving event in Kazan. The International Olympic Committee has urged sports organization to cancel events in Russia and Belarus.
• The Eurovision Song Contest also barred Russia.
Roland Li is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: roland.li@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rolandlisf