It's noted that among the sub-sanctioned Russian artists whose pages were removed by Spotify are Grigory Leps, Shaman, Oleg Gazmanov, Polina Gagarina, Chicherina and the band Lyube.

For reference. Spotify, the world's largest streaming service, which lets you listen to music, audiobooks and podcasts, was founded in 2006 in Stockholm. As of April 2024, it had 615 million monthly users, more than a third of them paid subscribers.

The service officially launched in Russia in July 2020, but halted operations in the country in April 2022 due to the full-scale Russian military invasion of Ukraine. The company later officially closed its office in Russia, liquidating the legal entity.

• On Monday, June 24, the EU Council adopted a 14th package of sanctions against Russia, targeting important sectors of the Russian economy such as energy, finance and trade.