UK restricts export of video game controllers to Russia amid use to pilot drones

Video game controllers used by Moscow to pilot drones in Ukraine are among the items which the Government has banned from being exported to Russia, the Foreign Office has announced.

Some 150 new trade sanctions introduced by the UK are aimed at choking off the Kremlin’s war effort.

Technology used in the Russian defence and energy sectors are among the items which can no longer be exported to Russia, including software used to search for and tap new oil and gas wells.

Some chemicals, metals and machinery are also facing export bans in order to limit Russia’s military capability.

‘Tools of war’

Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty claimed Russian President Vladimir Putin had been “buying harmless goods and turning them into tools of war”, but he added the the UK is “exposing and acting on this sinister trade”.

“Today’s action clamps down on Russia’s sneaky trading and deprives Putin of the goods he desperately needs to fight his barbaric war,” the minister said.

He added: “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.

“We’re also banning outright video game controllers going to Russia, preventing them from being used to pilot drones on the front line, meaning gaming consoles will no longer be repurposed to kill in Ukraine.

“And our tough new measures will also degrade Russia’s military machine – new export sanctions mean Putin will no longer be able to get his hands on specialist technology used to produce weaponry for his illegal war.”

Travel bans

The fresh wave of sanctions comes a day after 15 MPs and six peers were banned from travelling to Russia, in retaliation against the UK’s ongoing response to the invasion of Ukraine.

US President Donald Trump is currently pushing both Russia and Ukraine to accept the terms of a peace deal.

Kyiv is resistant to the proposal, which would require it to give up vast swathes of territory currently occupied by Russian forces.

The UK has meanwhile stepped up demands on Mr Putin to agree to an immediate unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine after a “brutal” overnight strike on Kyiv.

Sir Keir Starmer said the attacks were a reminder that Russia is the aggressor, after Mr Trump lashed out at Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky and suggested he was the barrier to peace.