DJI stops sales of its drones in Ukraine to prevent it being used in combat

According to DJI, the world’s largest maker of consumer drones, it has temporarily suspended sales in Ukraine and Russia. Consumer drones are being retrofit with explosives in the war efforts as well as being used to spot targets, and DJI doesn’t want its drones to be used for such purposes. It hasn’t gone so far as to support either country in this senseless war, but it makes it the first Chinese company to suspend operations in the region. Most Western companies have shuttered operations in Russia, and many in Ukraine as well.

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In a statement from the Chinese drone maker, DJI stated that it “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.”

This move comes a month after Ukrainian politician Mykhailo Fedorov called on DJI to stop selling its products in Russia. The country’s Minister of Digital Transformation posted an open letter for the dronemaker on Twitter that says Russia is using DJI products to navigate its missiles “to kill civilians.” It also says Russia is using an extended version of DJI’s AeroScope drone detection platform to gather flight information.