The drone making powerhouse DJI Technology Co announced that they are halting business in both Russia and Ukraine. Notably, this is the first major Chinese company to stop work in Russia explicitly due to the conflict in Ukraine. China has been sitting the fence during this conflict.
The company released this statement Tuesday, “DJI is internally reassessing compliance requirements in various jurisdictions. Pending the current review, DJI will temporarily suspend all business activities in Russia and Ukraine.”
The militaries of both Russia and Ukraine appear to be utilizing DJI drones in combat. This doesn’t sit well with DJI as they maintain that their drones are intended to be for civilian use only. As many reading this know, drones do not have to be made explicitly for military use for them to have significant effect on the battlefield. For example, civilian drones can be used for surveillance, aiding artillery strikes in being more precise, and they can also be modified to drop ordnance.
DJI obviously knows this and today a spokesperson for the company said, “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.”
