This might have something to do with Russia banning the sale of smartphones without Russian apps today: https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/12/02/russia-bans-i

This might have something to do with Russia banning the sale of smartphones without Russian apps today: https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/12/02/russia-bans-iphone-sale-without-russian-apps-a68313 https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/12/02/russia-bans-iphone... It's a tit-for-tat response, showing that if they want to make this a trade war, their companies will get hurt too. So yes, national grandstanding. Edit: Wups, dates are wrong. This FBI release is from November 25, so the Russian law is likely in response to it, not vice versa. Still national grandstanding, but the idiot party isn't necessarily the Russians.