Several applications belonging to the Russian holding VK have disappeared from the App Store, as first noted by RBC. The services no longer available for installation include VKontakte, Odnoklassniki, Mail, Skillbox, Dzen, VK Video, VK Messenger, VK Music and VK Dating.
According to Mediazona, the main VKontakte app was removed later than the others. At about 11:30 a.m. Moscow time, it was still available in the online store, while the rest of the services had already disappeared.
Representatives of the holding told TASS that Apple removed the applications without warning and unilaterally, although VK, according to the company, “has never been under sanctions and has not appeared on sanctions lists,” which the holding says is confirmed by opinions from international and U.S. lawyers.
VK also said that Apple’s actions are restricting Russian users’ access to widely used services. The company added that the disappearance of the apps from the App Store could mean users stop receiving push notifications about messages and important events.
In early June 2026, it became known that the Max messenger, also developed by VK, had likewise vanished from the App Store. Apple later said that app had been removed because of sanctions, but did not specify which restrictions it was referring to.
Development of Max began in 2022 within VK, the internet holding formerly known as Mail.ru. The company is headed by Vladimir Kiriyenko, the son of Sergei Kiriyenko, deputy head of the Russian presidential administration. Since late 2025, Russia has been conducting a large-scale campaign to promote the messenger, coinciding with the blocking of WhatsApp and Telegram that began in the summer of 2025.
The article was updated at 12:18 p.m.: after the main VKontakte app was removed, the редакция added that information and changed the headline.