Russia's no. 1 mobile operator MTS starts selling used and discounted smartphones

A logo of MTS mobile phone operator is seen on a building in central Moscow, Russia, March 10, 2016. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

(Reuters) - Russia's biggest mobile operator MTS said on Tuesday it has started selling discounted and used smartphones, offering Russian consumers cheaper alternatives as inflation bites and Western brands suspend shipments.

Apple paused all product sales in Russia in early March, one of many Western companies to distance itself from Moscow since it sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 in what it called a special military operation.