The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) introduced a ban for banks and non-bank financial institutions (pawn shops, credit unions, etc.) to accept dual-use goods that can be used for military purposes as collateral for personal loans. The decision entered into force today, May 4.
About this informs NBU press office.
The ban applies to goods from the Unified list of dual-use goods. This list includes, in particular:
- Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs
- Night vision devices
- Thermal imagers
- Means of communication
As the NBU explained, this decision was implemented to implement the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) dated April 20, 2024. The NSDC, among other things, banned military personnel from visiting gambling establishments and gambling on the Internet until the end of martial law.
The decision of the NSDC also obliged the NBU to develop recommendations for banks on blocking payments from citizens’ credit funds to the accounts of gambling organizers.
The military has repeatedly appealed to limit the access of the military to online casinos in Ukraine. According to the platoon commander of the 92nd separate assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Artem Osypyan, almost every battalion has people who suffer from gambling addiction.
This problem became public after the petition of Pavlo Petrichenko, a soldier of the 59th brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, appeared on the website of the President of Ukraine. In it, he pointed out, in particular, cases when soldiers addicted to gambling take microloans or pawn drones and thermal imagers.
