Google Play removes Max, Russia’s Kremlin-backed messenger, and VKontakte, VK’s flagship social network — three days after the EU sanctioned VK, their parent company

Google Play has removed Russian social network VKontakte and its Max messaging app, just three days after the European Union sanctioned their parent company. Odnoklassniki, another social network owned by the same holding, was also delisted. The apps remain available through alternative Android stores including RuStore, Huawei AppGallery, and Samsung Galaxy Store, and already-installed versions continue to work. VKontakte users are receiving notifications about a domain shift from dot-com to dot-ru. Per Meduza, this follows Apple's removal of the same apps in late June, signaling coordinated enforcement of the EU's economic sanctions on Russian tech companies.

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