The move marks a rare exit from Russia by a prominent Chinese company since the start of the war, and comes after Ukrainian authorities claimed DJI’s drones were being used by the Russian military.
DJI has repeatedly said it is against any military use of its products.
In February, Didi announced it would exit the Russian market but abruptly changed course days later, saying in a brief statement it would continue to operate there. The Chinese ride-hailing giant gave no reason for the reversal and did not respond to a request for comment.
Huawei has also been criticized for not taking a position on the matter. In March, two directors of the telecom giant’s British subsidiary resigned over the company’s refusal to condemn the invasion.
In a statement, a Huawei spokesperson at the time thanked the directors, Andrew Cahn and Ken Olisa, for their service and said they had “helped maintain the highest standards of corporate governance” without mentioning Russia or the war.
a closer look
DJI, known for its popular consumer drones, has recently come under criticism from the government of Ukraine, which has publicly accused the company of complicity in Russian attacks.
In the letter he claimed that Russian troops were “using DJI products to navigate missile strikes,” and called on the company to stop doing business in Russia until the violence ended.
In a written response to CNN Business, DJI said “we absolutely regret any use of our products to cause harm.”
The company said it had also promised to cut business ties with distributors if they did not commit to an agreement to refuse the sale of DJI products “to customers who clearly intend to use them for military purposes, or to adapt our products for military use.”