The British government has banned the export of game console controllers to Russia because they could be used to pilot Russian drones in Ukraine.
The British government has banned the export of game console controllers to Russia because they could be used to pilot Russian drones in Ukraine.
According to Politico, the ban is part of a new package of 150 trade sanctions against Russia. In it, the UK also blocked access to other technologies, including software for finding and drilling for new oil and gas wells.
«Today we are using all our capabilities to choke off the Russian war machine, save the lives of Ukrainians and protect British businesses from cynical Russian exploitation», — said Stephen Doty, the UK’s sanctions minister. The new measures have already come into force.
The sanctions package is largely aimed at cutting off access to innovative software and technology for Russia’s defense and energy sectors, including gamepads used to pilot drones in Russia’s war against Ukraine. It also bans the transfer of technology used in electronic products such as amplifiers and microcircuits, which the British government calls «critical» to Russian military development.
It also bans the export of chemicals, electronics, machinery, and metals to limit Russia’s military and industrial capabilities.
Britain believes that these sanctions will «deplete Putin’s military coffers» and will not allow the use of «British experience» to «fuel the Russian military machine».
«We are also completely banning the supply of video game controllers to Russia to prevent their use to pilot drones on the front line, which means that game consoles will no longer be repurposed for killing in Ukraine,» said Stephen Doty.
In January of this year, the EU proposed banning the sale of popular game consoles to Russia to prevent them from being used by the occupying army to control drones attacking Ukraine.
