Ukraine's anti-corruption agency designates Chinese tech brand Xiaomi as 'international sponsor of war'

Ukraine's National Corruption Prevention Agency has designated Chinese tech brand Xiaomi an "international sponsor of war," according to an April 13 press release.

The company is known not only for its smartphones but tablets, laptops, wearable devices, TVs, routers and other smart home devices.

According to the National Corruption Prevention Agency, Xiaomi was designated as an "international sponsor of war" for continuing to do business in Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"While the Russians bombed peaceful Ukrainian cities, Xiaomi managed to increase deliveries to the Russian Federation by 39% in the third quarter of 2022 compared to the previous one," the press statement read.

The company is now the leader in smartphone sales in Russia, meaning that the Russian market is extremely lucrative for the Chinese company.

According to the National Corruption Prevention Agency, Xiaomi has not conducted marketing campaigns in Moscow since spring 2022.

However, Xiaomi is now "actively resuming recruitment for its Russian offices" and "announced the official start of sales of flagship smartphones," which led the government agency to believe Xiaomi is resuming an active presence in the Russian market.

"Xiaomi Corporation is sponsoring the military aggression of a terrorist state and must bear both the reputational and legal consequences of its actions," the National Corruption Prevention Agency said.

The government agency has already designated 21 companies as "international sponsors of the war," according to the press statement.