DJI, the world's top drone maker, will temporarily suspend business operations in Ukraine and Russia to stop its drones being used by Russia.
“DJI is internally reassessing compliance requirements in various jurisdictions. Pending the current review, DJI will temporarily suspend all business activities in Russia and Ukraine. We are engaging with customers, partners and other stakeholders regarding the temporary suspension of business operations in the affected territories,” the Chinese company announced in a short statement on its website.
China’s stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has remained neutral since the start of the war. The Chinese government called for a peaceful resolution and said it supported the principle of “territorial integrity,” however, it has yet to condemn the invasion.
In March, Ukraine's Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov published an open letter to Frank Wang, the founder and CEO of DJI calling the company “to end any relationships and stop doing business in the Russian Federation until the Russian aggression in Ukraine is stopped and fair order is restored.”
“Block your products that are helping Russia to kill the Ukrainians,” Fedorov tweeted.
A DJI spokesperson said that the company’s decision to halt business operations in the both countries was “not to make a statement about any country, but to make a statement about our principles.”
“DJI abhors any use of our drones to cause harm, and we are temporarily suspending sales in these countries in order to help ensure no-one uses our drones in combat.”
DJI said last month it was aware of footage online that suggested the Russian military was using the company’s products, but it had not been able to confirm this and the company had no control over the use of its products.
Cybersecurity Help statement on the critical situation in Ukraine
On February 24, people in many cities and towns across Ukraine woke up to the sounds of explosions and artillery fire, as the Russian Federation launched a full-scale invasion of the country. Such actions are unacceptable, political ambitions of any man aren’t worth of blood, tears, and destruction of millions of lives. We give our full support to the Ukrainian people in these hard times. No more war! Слава Україні!