Apple Inc on Tuesday said that it has paused all product sales in Russia following the European giant’s invasion of Ukraine.

According to an email accessed by The Verge, CEO Tim Cook explained the company’s decision and assured his employees in Ukraine that Apple is taking a number of steps to help them.

He said that the US-based company has been donating to humanitarian relief efforts and will match donations at a rate of 2:1 for eligible organisations.

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Further, Cook added that Apple is in touch with all its employees in Ukraine and offering assistance to them and their families. The email also mentions a number for team members to contact to if they need support. 

Read an excerpt from the letter here: 

“Apple is donating to humanitarian relief efforts and providing aid for the unfolding refugee crisis. We are also working with partners to assess what more we can do. I know that many of you are eager to find ways to support as well, and we want to help amplify the impact of your donations. Starting today, Apple will match your donations at a rate of 2:1 for eligible organizations, and we will make this retroactive for donations to those organizations since February 25. Please visit the Employee Giving Portal to learn more.

We are working to support our teams in Ukraine and across the region. In Ukraine, we have been in contact with every employee, assisting them and their families in any way we can. For our Ukrainian team members located outside of the country that may need support, please contact [email redacted]. And for any employee who needs any support, please visit the People site for available resources.

As a company, we are taking additional actions as well. We have paused all product sales in Russia. Last week, we stopped all exports into our sales channel in the country. Apple Pay and other services have been limited. RT News and Sputnik News are no longer available for download from the App Store outside Russia. And we have disabled both traffic and live incidents in Apple Maps in Ukraine as a safety and precautionary measure for Ukrainian citizens.

We will continue to evaluate the situation and are in communication with relevant governments on the actions we are taking.”

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The technology company’s statement comes hours after it had imposed limitations for Apple Pay in Russia and taken down some Russian news apps from the App Store outside of the country.

It asserted that RT News and Sputnik News are no longer available for download from the App Store outside Russia. “Apple Pay and other services have been limited,” the release further stated. 

“We have disabled both traffic and live incidents in Apple Maps in Ukraine as a safety and precautionary measure for Ukrainian citizens,” Apple said. 

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Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, last week, in an open letter to Apple had asked the tech giant to cut Russia off from its products, services and App Store. Fedorov had said that he is “sure that such actions will motivate youth and active population of Russia to proactively stop the disgraceful military aggression.”

Apple had said that it has turned off traffic and live incident reports in Apple Maps in Ukraine as a safety measure. Google had also turned off Ukraine data in its map service.