Thousands of top Russian officials and government employees have been banned from using iPhones and other Apple products over concerns they could be used as spying tools by Western intelligence…
The Minister of Trade of Russia, according to with a publication of the Financial Times, reported that the ban is effective from Monday 17 July. 
The move affects various Apple products such as iPhones, iPads and laptops, and builds on similar restrictions already put in place by the digital development ministry and state defense agency Rostec. Kremlin officials earlier this year advised staff working on Vladimir Putin's 2024 re-election campaign against using various other smartphones developed in the US…
Russian intelligence officials blamed last month the US National Security Agency that it hacked thousands of iPhones located in Russia and targeted the phones of foreign diplomats based in Russia…
But Russian officials have not provided any clear evidence of a US conspiracy. Apple has also publicly denied the allegations and recently told the Times that it "has never worked with any government to create a backdoor in any Apple product and never will."
