In June the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) issued a public statement claiming that Apple collaborates heavily with American Intelligence Agencies, particularly the US National Security Agency (NSA), and sends them Russian data. That did not prevent numerous Russian officials from taking photos with their iPhones during the economic forum in Saint-Petersburg though.

However, at the end of June there were reports that Russian government officials were barred from using their iPhones during cabinet meetings. On July 16, 2023, there were reports that some Russian government ministries were barring employees from using iPhones on the job.

On August 2, 2023, Russia's Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor), was reported (according to machine translation) to have denied claims that they were preparing to ban the sale of Apple equipment.