Ukraine Government Wants Xbox, PlayStation To Cut Ties With Russian Market

In light of the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, a government official has called on gaming to stop supporting the Russian market. Ukraine's deputy prime minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, has written an open letter to game developers and esports organisations, calling for changes.

The letter may be broad in targeting pretty much all of the industry, but its message is clear. Ukraine feels that, among sweeping sanctions from western nations, gaming companies must also cut ties with Russian, and Belarusian markets.

"I am sure that you will not only hear, but also do everything to protect Ukraine, Europe and finally, the entire democratic world from bloody authoritarian aggression - and I appeal to temporarily block all Russian and Belarusian accounts, temporarily stop the participation of Russian and Belarusian teams and gamers in all international esports events and cancel all international events holding on the territory of Russia and Belarus.

We are sure that such actions will motivate the citizens of Russia to proactively stop the disgraceful military aggression."

Alongside the letter, Fedorov also took to Twitter to tag Xbox and PlayStation directly, ensuring the companies are aware of Ukraine's stance on the matter.

Last week, a slew of gaming companies also posted on the social media platform, reaching out for support and financial aid for Ukraine amid the country's ongoing crisis.