Google Play removes Russian social network and messenger apps after EU sanctions
Google Play has removed the Russian social network VKontakte, messenger Max, and Odnoklassniki apps, following EU sanctions against their parent company VK.
On July 16, Russian tech company VK announced that its Max messenger and VKontakte social network apps had been removed from the Google Play store. The Odnoklassniki social network app is also no longer available there.
VK stated that the apps remain available for download through RuStore, Huawei AppGallery, Samsung Galaxy Store, Xiaomi GetApps, and other Android app stores. Already installed apps will continue to work without restrictions.
Meanwhile, VKontakte users have begun receiving notifications about the social network's move from the .com domain to .ru. The notification reads: "It's still the same VKontakte, but faster and more reliable than vk.com."
On July 13, the European Union imposed sanctions on VK and its subsidiary, the investment company Kommunikatsionnaya Platforma, which developed the Max messenger.
In late June, the Max messenger, VK social network app, Mail.ru's email apps, and several other apps owned by VK were removed from the App Store. The Odnoklassniki app also became unavailable at that time.
