The European Union is proposing to ban the sale of popular game consoles to Russia to prevent them from being used by the occupying army to control drones attacking Ukraine.
The European Union is proposing to ban the sale of popular game consoles to Russia to prevent them from being used by the occupying army to control drones attacking Ukraine.
«We are looking at all possible options. We are really looking at all kinds of things that help Russia fight this war to put them on the sanctions list. Even video game consoles, because apparently that’s what they use to control the drones,» said Kaia Kallas, the head of the EU’s foreign policy department.
As the Financial Times notes, Russia has been forced to innovate after Western sanctions restricted access to military and electronic parts. According to Western and Ukrainian intelligence, Moscow uses basic semiconductors from refrigerators and other household appliances for its missiles and drones.
The three largest manufacturers of game consoles — American Microsoft and Japanese groups Nintendo and Sony — stopped sales in Russia in early March 2022. The EU ban will target retailers, including sellers of second-hand goods.
Kallas added that the list would also include chemicals «essential to the Russian military industry,» as well as restrictions on imports of liquefied natural gas. After the war, the EU banned almost all pipeline imports of gas and oil, but as a result is buying more Russian liquefied gas.
The sanctions require unanimous approval by the 27 EU member states. The existing restrictions came close to being lifted when Hungary threatened to veto another six-month extension over Ukraine’s breach of a gas transit deal with Moscow.
Recall that Roskomnadzor previously blocked the Discord messenger in Russia due to violations of Russian legislation regarding this service. This briefly caused panic among Russian occupiers who used the platform for their own purposes.
Discord was created as a service for gamers, allowing voice communication to better coordinate actions in online games. However, the service also became popular among the military during the Russian-Ukrainian war.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine were the first to use Discord to manage combat operations in 2022. The messenger interface can also be regularly seen in videos shot at the headquarters of Russian units and formations.
According to Kateryna Chernogorenko, Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine for Digitalization, the blocking of the Discord messenger in Russia provoked panic in the Russian army, which coordinated drone operators through it. The Armed Forces of Ukraine have their own Vezha platform for this, which is now integrated into the DELTA combat system .
