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The Ukraine Vice Prime Minister has penned an open letter asking Xbox, PlayStation & others to block access in Russian markets amidst the two countries’ ongoing war.
As spotted by Eurogamer, Mykhalio Fedorov addressed the letter to “all game development companies and esports platforms” and specifically tagged PlayStation and Xbox. The tweet reads “You are definitely aware of what is happening in Ukraine right now. Russia declare war not for Ukraine, but for all civilized world. If you support human values, you should live the Russian market.”
The letter itself adds more, opening with the Russian Federation’s military attack on Ukraine which began last week. In asking for support from games companies, Fedorov said “In 2022, modern technology is perhaps the best answer to the tanks, multiple rocket launches (hrad) and missiles.”
“I am sure that you will not only hear, but also do everything possible to protect Ukraine, Europe and, finally, the entire democratic world from bloody authoritarian aggression – and I appeal to temporarily block all Russian and Belorussian accounts, temporarily stop the participation of Russian and Belorussian 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,” the letter concludes. It’s worth noting that Fedorov also serves as the minister of digital transformation in the country.
The plea comes as many studios such as Ubisoft and CD Projekt Red pledge aid and support to Ukraine. This has also included This War of Mine developers 11 Bit Studios and S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2: Heart of Chernobyl team GSC Game World. So far, Xbox and PlayStation are yet to respond to Fedorov’s letter.
You are definitely aware of what is happening in Ukraine right now. Russia declare war not for Ukraine but for all civilized world. If you support human values, you should live the Russian market! pic.twitter.com/tnQr13BsSv
— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) March 2, 2022
