The EU plans to include game consoles in a new package of sanctions, given that Russia’s armed forces can use them to control drones and disassemble them for weapons, reports Financial Times.
The three largest game console manufacturers (Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony) stopped selling in the country in early March 2022, while the new ban will target traders who resell goods to Russia, as well as sellers of used goods.
«We are looking at all types of things that help Russia wage this war to put them on the sanctions list,» EU chief diplomat Kaja Kallas told reporters. «Even video game consoles, because those are the things they use to control drones».
Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft have not yet responded to requests for comment.
China is now Russia’s main supplier and sold $120 million worth of consoles to the country last year alone. The amount increased many times over in comparison to 2022 ($30 million), as Western companies began to sever ties with the Russian market.
Kallas added that the new list will include chemicals «required for the Russian military industry»; there are also restrictions on imports of liquefied natural gas and Russian aluminum. The new sanctions require unanimous approval from the EU’s 27 member states.
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