EU prepares to ban video game console sales to Russia in bid to prevent drone use

The EU is proposing a ban on video game console sales to Russia as part of sanctions to stop Russian forces using them to control drones in Ukraine.

As the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues, the latest effort in Brussels includes banning video game consoles including Sony’s PlayStation and Microsoft’s Xbox. This is one part of a wider round of sanctions levelled against Russia for the third anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine on February 22. While American-owned Microsoft and Japan’s Nintendo and Sony already halted direct sales in Russia back in March 2022, the ban takes aim at traders sending consoles, including second-hand markets.

“We are really looking into all the types of things that help Russia to wage this war to put them on the sanctions list,” Kallas told reporters. “Even the consoles for video games, because apparently these are the ones that they operate drones with.”

Previous Western sanctions have included a wide variety of items, including military and electronic parts. This has forced Russia to use semiconductors from fridges and other home appliances in order to continue use of missiles and drones. In the same way, video game consoles have been a backward way to control drones for use in the skies above Ukraine.

Other soon-to-be sanctioned items include chemicals used by the Russian military, as well as restrictions on liquefied natural gas imports and the import of Russian aluminium. More than 130,000 tonnes of aluminium from Russia was sent to the EU, accounting for 6% of its total imports in the first 10 months of 2024, reports the Financial Times.

Sanctions such as these need unanimous approval from the EU’s 27 member states, so the console ban (and the others proposed) are not confirmed for now. Discussions

Featured image: Midjourney

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