Chinese drone maker DJI refutes usage of its drones by Russian military in Ukraine war
Apr 11, 2022
Beijing [China], April 11 : After a German retailer took down the Chinese drones manufactured by DJI off its shelves citing the use of these drones by the Russian military in its war on Ukraine, the Chinese drone maker has denied these allegations.
German electronics and home appliances giant MediaMarkt confirmed that it received the information from various sources. However, the retailer did not give any details of the information received, reported Global Defense Corp.
MediaMarkt, which runs more than 800 stores in 12 European nations and Turkey, did not say what information it had received about DJI adding "We will closely examine further indications and developments."
The retailer defended its action of taking down the Chinese products. It called the move "a clear signal for the values that have the highest priority for us", which it saw come under attack by Russia's "aggressive" war against Ukraine.
Taking to Twitter, the Chinese firm said, "DJI promotes civilian drone applications that benefit society," adding that MediaMarkt's accusation was "utterly false". In Saturday's statement, it said, "We do not support any use that does harm to people's lives, rights and interests."
Even when the western firms have pulled out of Russia in protest, DJI has stayed on, like many Chinese companies. These companies are doing this taking a cue from Beijing's stance of refraining from criticism of Moscow over the invasion.
Ukraine has also slammed the company for supporting Russia in its invasion of the country. Ukraine's minister of digital transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov last month said he asked DJI founder Frank Wang in a letter to cut ties with Russia, accusing its troops of using DJI products for the navigation of missiles that kill Ukrainian civilians, as per Global Defense Corp.
Following the accusations by the Ukrainian Minister, DJI denies the claims and wrote on Twitter that its products are designed for civilian use and were inappropriate for military missions.
