Ukraine Wants Counter-Strike Players in Its Army

The line between the virtual battlefields of Counter-Strike 2 and the real ones has never been thinner.

A Ukrainian People’s Deputy has sparked widespread discussion among gamers after suggesting that CS2 players could potentially be valuable assets in the army, the reasoning for which is rooted in Ukraine’s rapidly evolving approach to modern warfare.

“We need specialists who know how to play Counter-Strike, participate in all these cool tournaments,” the deputy said. “The ability to work on a laptop is now valued in the army on a par with a lieutenant colonel.”

He also went on to address the concerns of parents worried about sending their children to war.

“We understand that young people have parents, especially mothers, who are very concerned about the safety of their children,” he continued. “Modern warfare can provide this, allowing guys in basements to control drones from a distance of 500–1,000 kilometers [from the front lines].”

While it may sound unusual at first glance, the logic holds up pretty well on the battlefield. Ukraine’s drone commanders have openly acknowledged that gaming experience is a genuine asset, with one unit commander even claiming that soldiers with PlayStation experience already know how to use the controllers, while describing ideal pilots simply as “gamers, basically.”

In the present day, drones account for nearly two-thirds of battlefield deaths in the conflict. Additionally, as most Ukrainian drone operators are FPV pilots who often receive only weeks of training before deployment, this makes prior simulation and gaming experience all the more relevant.