Apple pulls the plug on all payments in Russia following government diktat – Latest Technology News & Trends

Apple has pulled the plug on all payment processing in Russia, meaning that it’s no longer possible for residents of the country to make app purchases or renew subscriptions. This includes subscriptions to Apple services like iCloud+ and Apple TV.

The move was based in part on a diktat from the Russian government, but may also be a precautionary move after the company accidentally busted sanctions against the country …

Apple announced the change in a new support document.

As of April 1, 2026, payment processing is no longer available for purchases made on the App Store or other Apple Media Services in Russia. This might affect your existing subscriptions.

New purchases, including in-app purchases and subscription renewals, are no longer available in Russia unless you have funds in your Apple Account balance […]

If you have funds in your Apple Account balance, you can continue to make purchases and renew subscriptions as long as funds are available. You can also redeem any App Store codes that you already have.

The company specifically confirms that this includes all Apple subscriptions:

• Apple Arcade
• Apple Fitness+
• Apple Music
• Apple Podcasts subscriptions
• Apple One
• App Store purchases and subscriptions
• Apple TV purchases and subscriptions
• iTunes Store purchases
• iCloud+
• Ringtone & Tone purchases

One particular concern would be iCloud+ subscriptions, as the inability to renew these could have left Apple customers without access to their data, but the company says that “your data will remain accessible after the subscription ends.”

It’s unclear whether Russian customers will be able to continue adding data to their accounts, however. The company does include links to managing your storage and downloading iCloud photos and videos.

Apple is responding to a government order

The primary motivation for the change appears to be a response to a new government order.

From April 1, iphone owners will not be able to replenish their Apple ID balance from their mobile account. The operators of the “four” were instructed by the Ministry of Digital Affairs to disable the option that became popular after the ban on Russian cards to pay for foreign services.

However, as Apple’s response goes further than this by disabling all payment methods, it may be that the company is also playing safe after it was recently fined for accidentally breaching sanctions against Russia. While Russian payment cards were already blocked, some may have been using foreign cards to pay for their Apple services.

The primary motivation for the Russian government’s action is likely to block access to VPN apps which are being used to circumvent internet censorship within the country.

Photo by Vardan Papikyan on Unsplash