In an wartime economic move that’d feels a bit more symbolic than strategically necessary, the UK government has announced that in service of aiding Ukraine’s ongoing defense efforts, they have chosen to add “video game controllers” to the ever-growing list of items the country and its citizens are barred from exporting to Russia.
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Per an April 24th amendment made to the country’s ongoing list of Russian sanctions, among a wide range of roughly 150 other items ranging from crude electronics materials to various types of automobiles, the UK government specifically placed export restrictions on any and all “radio remote control apparatus” – including video game controllers.
In a statement issued to the media confirming the amendment package, Minister of State Stephjen Doughty affirmed, “Today, we are flexing our powers to choke the Russian war machine, save Ukrainian lives and protect British businesses from cynical Russian exploitation.”
“Cutting off Russia’s energy revenues will drain Putin’s war chest — that’s why we’re shutting down the sale of sophisticated software used to cash in on new oil and gas reserves, preventing UK expertise from being used to pour fresh fuel into Russia’s war machine,” the Minister continued. “We’re also banning outright video game controllers going to Russia, preventing them from being used to pilot drones on the frontline, meaning gaming consoles will no longer be repurposed to kill in Ukraine.”
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Likewise, in a tweet made to their official Twitter account, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) declared, “Today’s measures will also cut Russia’s war machine off from innovative British tech, world-leading software, and close loopholes exploited by Putin’s cronies.”
However, despite the UK’s boisterous stance, one has to question just what this ban will accomplish given that most video game controllers, from various third-party Nintendo GameCube controllers to official PlayStation 5 DualShock, are made not in the Western isles, but rather China.
As such, while the British government may be able to block UK retailers and suppliers from shipping directly to Russian customers, all Vladimir Putin and his forces really have to do should they wish to use an Xbox One controller to conduct drone warfare is purchase them (or more likely cheap knock offs) directly from their East Asian ally.
To this end, UK news outlet The Register has made respective inquiries to both the FCDP and the country’s Department for Business and Trade as to just how many controllers this anti-drone initiative is estimated to prevent from falling into Russian hands, but as of writing neither have offered an official response.
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