Security News > 2022 > April > Chinese drone-maker DJI suspends ops in Russia, Ukraine

In a first for a major Chinese tech company, drone-maker DJI Technologies announced on Tuesday that it will temporarily suspend business in both Russia and Ukraine.

"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," declared DJI in a canned statement.

"We want to reiterate a position we have long held: our products are made to improve people's lives and benefit the world, and we absolutely deplore any use of our products to cause harm. DJI has only ever made products for civilian use; they are not designed for military applications," insisted DJI. The company said it would terminate business relationships with any distributor, reseller or business partner that sells its products to customers intending to use them for military purposes.

Russia is also a known drone user in pursuit of its military goals, but relies on military-spec kit rather than DJI's prosumer-grade products.

The Washington Post reported in February that DJI and Beijing were very close, with DJI receiving funding from several Chinese state-backed investors.

While the drone company is the first major Chinese company to suspend sales to Russia and Ukraine, fellow sanctioned Chinese product manufacturer Huawei furloughed its staff and stopped taking orders in Russia earlier this month.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2022/04/27/dji_suspends_russia_and_ukraine/