Ukraine has an unlikely ally in fight against Russia: DJI drones 

Despite its steadfast support for Russia in the UN Security Council, you would be surprised if I said China has helped decimate more Russian soldiers and armour than it would have liked. This is all thanks to the indiscriminate use of DJI drones by Ukrainian forces. Since February, over 90,000 Russians have been killed or wounded, according to some estimates.

Since the war started, Ukraine and Russia have been creatively deploying military and consumer drones for surveillance and tactical hits, especially the ones made by DJI, which is based out of China’s Silicon Valley, Shenzhen. It makes some of the world’s favourite pro-consumer drones like the Phantom Series, Mavic, Air, Mini and Inspire Series. The Chinese company also has a wide range of bigger enterprise drones with higher carrying capacity. But in Ukraine, the smaller Mavic range that weighs less than a kilogram has been deployed.   

Perhaps for the first time in military history, a non-military consumer product was quickly adapted and went on to become a tactical weapon of surveillance, strike, and a crucial tool for a war propaganda machine. Today’s ubiquitous technologies and products, including the internet, satellite navigation and digital cameras, all originated as exclusive military technologies.