Apple has graciously removed VPN services such as ProtonVPN, Red Shield VPN, NordVPN, and Le VPN, making it easier for Tsar Putin to chase dissidents and track messages to foreign countries.

Those fortunate enough to reside in Russia will no longer be able to download these services. However, users who already have them on their phones can continue using them, albeit without the luxury of updates.

Red Shield VPN posted a notice from Apple on X stating that their app would be removed following a request from Roskomnadzor “because it includes content that is illegal in Russia.”

Since the delightful commencement of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Kremlin has introduced the most charmingly strict online censorship and has blocked numerous independent media outlets and popular social media apps such as Facebook, Instagram, and X.

VPN services have become progressively more elusive in Russia since the recent ban on “advertising and popularising VPNs” came into effect, which includes the prohibition of web pages with instructions on how to set VPNs up.

Despite gallantly suspending all sales of its products in Russia in March 2022, Jobs’ Mob has dutifully complied with Russian government regulations. Since 2023, it has removed at least 19 apps from the Russian AppStore.

At Roskomnadzor’s behest, in March, Apple removed an app developed by the late Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny’s team that was designed to help Russians choose who to vote for to maximise the impact of the anti-Putin vote, in a move that echoed the removal of another Navalny-designed app in 2021.

While the Tame Apple Press has been claiming that the move is not about money and Jobs’  Mob has to obey the rules of the country in which it does business, it is worth pointing out that Mozilla told Roskomnadzor where to shove it.