Mindful of the war wreaking havoc in Ukraine, tech giant Apple Inc hit the brakes on its product sales in Russia, Apple Pay and other services in the country.

This halt happened three days after Moscow recognized Ukraine’s breakaway regions Donetsk and Luhansk as independent entities soon after the Russian military forces waged war in the country.

Last week, the tech giant halted all exports in the country's sales channel. Other services, such as Apple Pay, have been curtailed. Outside of Russia, RT News and Sputnik News are no longer accessible for download on the App Store.

Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's vice prime minister and minister of digital development, broke the news first on Telegram, adding that Apple had stopped selling its products at Russia's official online store.

In response to the news about the Russia-Ukraine crisis, Apple has joined a number of other internet firms in adopting severe measures.

Fedorov also mentioned that certain Ukrainian music companies approached Apple CEO Tim Cook directly, asking if the company would enable Ukrainian musicians to change their album covers.

"We ask for permission to use this picture (or similar ones) instead of album covers of Ukrainian musicians and artists to expose the reality about the situation in Ukraine," the companies stated, uploading a snapshot of a teal and yellow artwork with Ukrainian lettering.

“In addition to this, we ask you to block Apple Music accounts of Russian artists who support the war and Putin's aggressive actions, such as Nikolai Baskov, Leonid Agutin, Prokhor Shalyapin and others. We want peace, clear skies and freedom. We don't want war”.

According to Euronews, Meta, Google, TikTok, and YouTube had previously restricted Russian state-owned media outlets RT and Sputnik in Europe.

Several countries have denounced Russia's military activities in Ukraine and put sanctions on Moscow, including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union. These countries have also promised Ukraine military assistance in the fight against Russia.

“We are deeply concerned about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and stand with all of the people who are suffering as a result of the violence. We are supporting humanitarian efforts, providing aid for the unfolding refugee crisis, and doing all we can to support our teams in the region. We will continue to evaluate the situation and are in communication with relevant governments on the actions we are taking. We join all those around the world who are calling for peace”, expresses Apple.