Chinese drone giant DJI suspends business in Russia, Ukraine

Ukraine’s military has used DJI drones extensively for reconnaissance during the conflict, while battlefield pictures and footage suggest Russia has also deployed drones manufactured by the company

DJI, the world’s largest drone manufacturer, has announced it is temporarily halting operations in Russia and Ukraine, in a rare example of a Chinese firm suspending business in response to the war in Ukraine, Qazet.az reports.

The Shenzhen-headquartered company said on Wednesday it would suspend its business in the two countries while “internally reassessing compliance requirements in various jurisdictions”.

DJI, which was founded in Hong Kong in 2006 and is not publicly listed, added it was “engaging with customers, partners and other stakeholders regarding the temporary suspension,” according to a company statement.

Adam Lisberg, DJI’s director of corporate communications for North America, told Al Jazeera the company had taken the action “not to make a statement about any country, but to make a statement about our principles”.