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| An employee shows the Mavic Pro 2 drone in a DJI store in Shanghai, May 22, 2019. Photo: AFP |
International Military - DJI Technology Co has finally decided to suspend sales of their drones to Russia and Ukraine. DJI Technology Co is the largest drone company in China.
The decision to suspend and take a different stance in the Russo-Ukrainian war shows that DJI Technology Co has a different attitude from other big companies in China. "We will temporarily suspend business in Russia and Ukraine to ensure our products are not used in combat," DJI Technology Co said as quoted by Zonajakarta.com from Reuters.
The suspension follows Ukrainian officials and citizens accusing DJI Technology Co of leaking data about the Ukrainian military to Russia. The allegations are "grossly wrong" and as the world's largest maker of consumer and industrial drones, DJI has made a commitment.
A spokesperson for DJI Technology Co later spoke on Wednesday, April 27, 2022. "The suspension of DJI Technology Co's business is not for making a statement about any country, but for a statement about our company principles," said the unnamed spokesperson.
"DJI hates using our drones to cause harm, and we are temporarily suspending sales in these countries (Russia and Ukraine) to help ensure no one uses our drones in combat."
Meanwhile, a company representative also said last month that DJI Technology Co was aware of online footage showing the Russian military using its products, but had not been able to confirm this and the company had no control over consumer use of its products.
What DJI Technology Co does is different from other Chinese companies. As is well known, many Western companies have withdrawn from Russia to protest its invasion of Ukraine. However, Chinese companies remain in Russia, in line with Beijing's stance to refrain from criticizing Moscow over the conflict.
DJI's suspension runs the risk of a strong reaction from the Chinese public and a warm welcome from the international community.
As the largest drone company operating in multiple countries, DJI Technology Co does not release financial information, but the Drone Analyst Assets Firm estimates that it will have hardware revenue of $2.9 billion in 2020.