Looking at this beyond Russia and Ukraine, the Apple store has too much gatekeeping power. I have read so many horror stories even here of devs having apps pulled or having to make seemingly arbitrary changes.
Do you consider this as just a normal day for an Apple used? Imagine a someone who is against war, who buys an iphone for chatting with his friends, and get his favourite social network deleted because of geopolitics.
While imaging the inconvenience of switching chat apps, you might also imagine someone who lived in Ukraine who just wanted to sit around all day and read HN and now they are dead after being bombed by Russia. Apple is complying with the US sanctions because they are a US company. There is no magic here. The Dutch company that owned a 27% stake in VK had to write down its stake, $760M. Again, marginally more inconvenient than switching chat apps.
Imagine being a country trying to develop and mend your past, having NATO inching ever closer to your borders, with plans to deploy tactical and strategic missiles pointed at your capital. While being painted as the bad guy in Hollywood movies for the past 30 years. Marginally more inconvenient than being caught trying to influence the smear campaign against you.
Are Apple executives aware that blanket sanctions are an illegal act of war under the Geneva convention?