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Shenzhen-based firm says it is “reassessing compliance requirements” following controversy over role in Ukraine war

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.

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”.

“DJI 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,” Lisberg said.

DJI’s announcement comes after the company last month denied claims it had been leaking Ukrainian military information to Russia, saying that a German retailer that pulled its products from the shelves had been “subject to what appeared to be a coordinated campaign making false allegations”.

DJI had last week reiterated that its products were intended for purely civilian use, saying its partners agree not to sell its products to “customers who clearly plan to use them for military purposes, or help modify our products for military use”.

“We will never accept any use of our products to cause harm, and we will continue striving to improve the world with our work,” the company said in a statement.

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.

Charles Rollet, an analyst at surveillance research group IPVM, said DJI’s move likely reflects the consumer pressure the firm has faced in Europe over claims it has been assisting Moscow’s war effort.

“DJI is a Chinese state-backed company but it wants to be seen as a neutral global manufacturer so the Russian invasion has brought unprecedented scrutiny against it and I think DJI is incredibly concerned about being perceived as an agent of Beijing,” Rollet, who has studied DJI’s links to several Chinese state investment bodies, told Al Jazeera.

“But they’re also doing this without concretely supporting Ukraine either. So in that way, they are in line with the Chinese government’s stance as well. And if you look at their statement, it’s very terse. It used the word ‘hostilities’ rather than war or invasion.”

Rollet said DJI’s announcement could provide an example to other Chinese companies concerned about the reputational cost of dealing with Russia.

“I think other firms may follow and they will probably use this template, instead of condemning the invasion and pulling out of Russia only, they will probably condemn ‘hostilities’ generically despite Russia being the clear aggressor and pull out of both markets,” he said.

James Char, an expert in Chinese civil-military relations at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, described DJI’s move as a “pragmatic decision” driven by commercial concerns.

“By disassociating itself with Russia’s illegitimate invasion of Ukraine and pulling out of the Russian market, DJI is not unlike other western companies in making sure that its reputation and commercial interests in other parts of the world will not suffer blowback,” Char told Al Jazeera.

While hundreds of firms have suspended or scaled back operations in Russia amid Western-led sanctions and censure, leading Chinese companies including Alibaba, Didi, Huawei, Lenovo and Tencent have continued to do business in the country. Three China-based banks – the Bank of China, ICBC and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank – are the only Chinese entities among the 466 firms that have distanced themselves from the country since the February 24 invasion, according to a recent analysis by Investment Monitor.

Last week, Russian media outlet RBC reported that China’s UnionPay had also stopped cooperating with major Russian banks out of concern it could be pinpointed by secondary sanctions .

The 193 members of the United Nations General Assembly have adopted by consensus a resolution requiring the five permanent members of the Security Council to justify their use of the veto.

The push for reform, which was greeted with applause in the chamber, was revived by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The measure is intended to make veto-holders the United States, China, Russia, France and the United Kingdom “pay a higher political price” when they use the veto to strike down a Security Council resolution, said one ambassador who asked to remain anonymous.

It is unclear if the five permanent members will use the veto less, or more – as they could propose controversial texts they know their rivals will veto only to force them to justify their stance publicly.

First proposed more than two years ago, the measure provides for the General Assembly to be convened within 10 working days after a veto “to hold a debate on the situation as to which the veto was cast”, according to the text.

The assembly is not required to take or consider any action, but the discussion could put veto-wielders on the spot and let a raft of other countries be heard.

Almost 100 countries joined Liechtenstein in co-sponsoring the reform, including the US, UK and France – a rapid rally of support that caused widespread surprise at the UN.

Neither Russia or China were among the sponsors, though. A diplomat from one of the two countries, who asked not to be named, criticised the move, saying it will “divide” the UN even further.

“It is not directed against Russia,” he said, despite the fact that the proposal’s revival came as the Security Council has proven incapable of condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine because of Moscow’s veto power.

From the US’s perspective, Russia has abused its right of veto for two decades and the proposed text is intended to remedy the situation.

Wenaweser said the text aimed to “promote the role of [the] United Nations, to promote multilateralism and to promote the voice of all of us who are not veto holders and who are not on the Security Council on matters of international peace and security”.

The text is non-binding and nothing prevents a country that has used its veto from declining to explain its actions to the General Assembly.

But its application “will shed light” on the use of the veto and on the “blockages” within the Security Council, said one ambassador on condition of anonymity.

In addition to its five permanent members, the Security Council also has 10 members elected for two years, without the right of veto.

Among the co-sponsors of the resolution were – in addition to Ukraine – both Japan and Germany, which are hoping to become permanent members on a potentially enlarged Security Council.

But neither Brazil nor India, two other potential candidates for a permanent position on the Council, are on the list of co-sponsors obtained by the AFP news agency.

tempest01:
You Nigerian Putin supporters are the most dorkish people.

No common sense or critical thinking. Russia is fighting tooth and nail to save their currency. Is there a long term potential to stay up? Only if they end their senseless war which ego won't let them.

Now the value is rising, how long do you think it is going to last?

This is even an incentive for investors to break even, cash out and leave the country. What do you think happens afterwards?

The only lifeline is the gas exports.What happens when all the LNG investments and alternative contracts for gas to Europe play out? The recent visit by Europeans to Nigeria what do you think it was for?

Go and invest in Russia na since the currency is doing well.

joyandfaith:
Beautiful points.

hayzed19:
Ain't saying Russia won't lose more
If you go through the thread when the west drop the first sanctions on Russia. You will see lots talking shit

The exodus of Western companies from Russia could cost hundreds of thousands of jobs in Moscow alone.

The city's mayor, Sergey Sobyanin, said in a blog post Monday that 200,000 people were at risk of losing their jobs. Authorities were setting aside 3.36 billion rubles ($41 million) to support them, he added.

Scores of Western companies have left Russia or suspended operations in the country after President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in late February. Businesses have been sold, offices shut, and production of everything from beer to cars halted.

Dozens of them, including McDonald's (MCD) — which employs 62,000 people in the country — have promised to continue to pay their workers, at least for a limited period of time.

Sweden's Ingka Group, owner of retailer IKEA, has 15,000 employees in Russia. A company spokesperson told CNN Business last month that it has guaranteed three months' salary to its workers.

Yet it is unclear how long companies can keep up the support. Sobyanin said the Russian government is stepping in to help those workers left behind.

"The [support] program is addressed to employees of foreign companies that have temporarily suspended their activities or decided to leave Russia," he said.

According to the mayor, the assistance plan includes training, employment in temporary and public works, and incentives for organizations and firms to hire workers whose companies have left.

Western sanctions have hobbled Russia's economy and pushed the country to the brink of its first default on foreign debt in more than a century. Inflation has soared and economists are forecasting a deep recession.

Lacking access to about half of its foreign currency reserves — now frozen under sanctions — Russia attempted to pay in rubles, not the dollars stipulated in contracts, on two maturing bonds in early April, credit ratings agency Moody's said Friday. Russia has until May 4 to meet its obligations or it could be considered to be in default, the agency said. S&P has already called out Russia for a "selective default" on those bonds.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen last week skewered governments and companies that have kept their ties to Russia.

"Let me now say a few words to those countries who are currently sitting on the fence, perhaps seeing an opportunity to gain by preserving their relationship with Russia and backfilling the void left by others. Such motivations are short-sighted," she said in a speech at the Atlantic Council

hayzed19:
Nobody predicted that Russia would earn the same amount over the years.
But you have all made it appear that the sanctions will only affect Russia.

ken6488:
That's a big lie sanctions is affecting only the west, you think the world revolve around them

.Russia has the backing of brics.

The two world most popular nation India and China are strongly behind Russia


The west should be scared

seunny4lif:
Moscow time is funded by USA or UK government
Do the maths
This your head must learn

Botlord:
It's a prize to pay for their freedom...
Hope you've seen how your darling is threatening a sovereign country for having security pact with China..

N: US is thousands of miles away

seunny4lif:
Moscow Time is funded by USA or UK and have no office at all in Russia.

Sources close to the party’s national secretariat disclosed that the shifting has become necessary due to the inability of the printer to deliver as promised, adding that the forms may now go on sale in a yet-to-be fixed date next week.

The Republic of Moldova does not allow the deployment of armed forces of other states on its territory." Thus, since Moldova's neutrality is enshrined in its constitution, the country has no plans to join either NATO or CSTO.

-Wiki

Upon the receipt of this unfortunate incident, the Police Command swung into action and commenced an in-depth technical investigation, after a painstaking investigation and technical intelligence analysis upon the marching order of the Commissioner of Police, Niger State Command CP Monday Bala Kuryas, fsi to the operatives of the Command to ensure that the perpetrator(s) of this dastard act are brought to book.

The moment Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, Russian filmmakers Anna Shishova-Bogolyubova and Dmitry Bogolyubov knew they had to leave Moscow.

"We were the next on the list," the couple told AFP in their borrowed flat in Rehovot, a quiet Israeli city 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of Tel Aviv.

Once you're on the list of alleged "foreign agents", you face a life of "self-censorship or, sooner or later, prison", said Bogolyubov, who directed the German-financed 2019 documentary "Town of Glory".

The film portrays President Vladimir Putin's use of references related to the fight against Nazi Germany to establish his authority in Russian villages.

As its international isolation has deepened, Moscow has come to view all movies made with foreign financing with suspicion, including documentaries, and the couple said theirs was no exception.

"Over the past few years, we felt threatened. In the past few months in particular, people were spying on us and taking photographs on our film sets," Shishova-Bogolyubova said.

The couple decided to continue working in Russia but, taking advantage of their Jewish ancestry, they obtained Israeli citizenship just in case.

Israel's Law of Return gives the right of citizenship to anyone with at least one Jewish grandparent, a criterion that tens of thousands in both Russia and Ukraine meet.

- Opposition to war -

Since Russian troops invaded on February 24, nearly 24,000 Ukrainians have fled to Israel, some but not all taking advantage of the law, according to immigration ministry figures.

They have been joined by around 10,000 Russians, an Israeli immigration official told AFP.

"Most of those are young graduates, from the urban middle class," the official said, asking not to be identified.

Like the Bogolyubovs, Moscow-born linguist Olga Romanova had prepared for the day when she no longer felt safe in Russia.

She applied for an Israeli passport after Putin's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

"I always thought that one day I would join my children in Israel, but it was then that I realised that things were going wrong in Russia," the 69-year told AFP in her son's house outside Jerusalem surrounded by photographs of her grandchildren.

When the invasion started on the morning of February 24, "it was proof that I needed to leave as quickly as possible.

"The war in Ukraine is incompatible with my way of thinking and my moral values. It makes me sick," she said, fighting back the tears.

- New home or stopover? -

The wave of immigration from Ukraine and Russia over the past seven weeks is the largest Israel has seen since the early 1990s when the collapse of the Soviet Union prompted hundreds of thousands to seek a new life on the shores of the Mediterranean.

"Here, we feel safe and we can sleep peacefully once more," said Shishova-Bogolyubova.

"My four-year-old daughter, who is diabetic, is completely taken care of.

"But we don't know if we will stay -- that depends on our work. Right now, we just want to live for the moment and recover from our emotions. Afterwards, we will see."

Sergey, a violinist who asked to be referred to by a pseudonym for fear of retribution, left Moscow for Israel with his pianist wife and three young children but expects to move on.

"I don't know if we'll stay here. We'll probably go somewhere else," he said.

Even for those who qualify for citizenship, Israel can be a terra incognita for new arrivals and nostalgia for Russia is never far below the surface.

Romanova, the linguist, found space in her 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of luggage for just two books, one an academic work, the other a novel by famed Russian novelist Mikhail Bulgakov which always accompanies her on her travels.

"I lost my country. It was stolen from me. It was taken by Putin and those KGB thugs," she said wistfully.