The Council of the EU has adopted the 16th package of sanctions against Russia in response to its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions will target 48 individuals and 35 entities that pose a threat to the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. Other measures include a ban on the export of game controllers used to control combat drones.
The Council also established two new criteria that will allow the EU to impose restrictive measures on individuals and legal entities that own or operate vessels of Putin's shadow fleet, as well as those who support or benefit from the Russian military-industrial complex.
"For three years now, Russia has been bombing Ukraine incessantly, trying to steal land that does not belong to it. This new round of sanctions is not only aimed at Russia's shadow fleet, but also at those who support the operation of dangerous oil tankers, video game controllers used to pilot drones, banks that circumvent our sanctions, and propaganda media outlets that spread lies," said EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaia Kallas.
The ban on game controllers is part of a package of restrictions on the export of dual-use goods that Russia can modify and use on the battlefield. These restrictions add:
- Dual-use chemical precursors for the production of chloropicrin and other riot control agents that Russia uses as chemical weapons, in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
- Software related to numerically controlled (CNC) machines used to manufacture weapons and video game controllers used by the Russian military to pilot drones on the battlefield.
- Chromium ores and compounds because of their military applications.