Apple has defended the reported removal of a number of independent media apps and VPN services from its Russian App Store as a means of avoiding a total block on Apple content in Russia, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said on Tuesday. Apple silently removed nearly 60 VPN services from the Russian App Store between 4 July and 18 September, bringing the total number of VPN apps unavailable in the country to 98, GreatFire, an organisation which monitors online censorship, reported.