> several Russian mobile apps related to the Russian internet company VK were deleted from the U.S. tech giant's App Store.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/kremlin-demands-explana...

Banning it from the app store is different from banning from distributing their app on any surface. It's closer to Walmart choosing to not carry a product vs the government saying no one may carry that product. Of course both can happen for political reasons but generally the latter is a bigger hammer applied less often.