Chinese manufacturer of Mavic drones denies statement by Ukraine's Prime Minister about selling drones to Ukraine

A Chinese company SZ DJI Technology has criticised the speech of Denys Shmyhal, Prime Minister of Ukraine, at the Kyiv International Economic Forum at the beginning of October, where he stated that Ukraine was purchasing 60% of the total amount of the Mavic drones produced.

Source: the Defence News media outlet with reference to a commentary of the company’s spokesperson

Quote: "We are utterly surprised by the statement by the Ukrainian prime minister as he has no insight into DJI’s production numbers. The statement bears no resemblance to reality and is totally misleading with regards to DJI’s involvement in the use of its production in Ukraine."

He added that all distributors and resellers of DJI confirm periodically that they adhere to the ban on supply of their production for military purposes. They are obliged by the contract, and the business ties with the company may be severed in case they violate restrictions.

"We regret deeply that our consistently repeated public condemnation of our products being used in combat is not being acknowledged by various stakeholders," DJI stated.

Ukraine's Defence Ministry has not replied to the request by the Defence News for the commentary on whether Ukraine’s Prime Minister’s words were related to the state procurement program or unofficial procurement channels.

"Ukraine’s allies have organised drone support campaigns, often in the form of private donation drives, aimed at giving Kyiv’s forces an edge in drone-based surveillance and attack capabilities," Defence News writes.

At the same time, it also points at the contradictions between the statements by the Chinese manufacturer and the real situation.

The question is not how the drones end up in Ukraine. According to a recent report by The New York Times, based on official data of Ukraine's Customs Office, within the period from January to June, Kyiv has received "millions" of China-produced drones and spare parts. They were mainly sent from Europe.

Yet Russia has also received drones worth at least US $14.5 during this period. But in this case, according to Russia's Customs Office, they were supplied directly by the Chinese trading firms.

Moreover, the Russian pilots and drone operators are learning to fly the Mavic drones in training centres in their country.

Molfar, the Ukrainian consulting group for business analytics, has discovered one of such centres called Pustelga. In several social media posts, Pustelga stated that the operators are being trained on the Mavic drones.

Background:

Despite the sanctions, Russia continues to import civilian Chinese drones produced by the DJI company through its distributors, and it also receives drones from Iran.

The Pentagon is concerned that these drones are not only strengthening combat efforts of Russia but also give China the opportunity to collect important intelligence from the battlefield, which may increase Beijing’s readiness for the war.

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