Russia targets drones at civilians, which is a war crime, according to the UN commission's conclusion, as reported by The New York Times. In Kherson, small drones regularly target ordinary people, dropping hand grenades on them and recording videos of their attacks. Citing local authorities, the report estimates that over the past year, Russian drones have killed more than 200 civilians and injured another 2,000. Investigators interviewed 226 people, including victims and emergency responders, reviewed over 500 videos, and concluded that these actions constitute crimes against humanity and war crimes.
According to the report published on Monday by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, for over a year, Russian operators have regularly launched drones into Kherson, dropping hand grenades on civilians on sidewalks or working in gardens behind houses. Other attacks targeted ambulances and fire brigades, with drones sometimes hovering over burning buildings, waiting to drop grenades on arriving firefighters.
"All types of short-range drones used in these attacks are equipped with live-streaming cameras that focus on specific targets, leaving no doubt about the awareness and intentions of the perpetrators," the report states.
According to the commission's report, this was a deliberate series of attacks aimed at creating a "constant atmosphere of terror" and forcing residents to leave Kherson. Ukrainians refer to such hunting of civilians as a "drone safari." The attacks in Kherson are so frequent that kilometers of netting have been installed over the city's streets to block drones.
Russian troops captured Kherson, located on the western bank of the lower Dnipro River, during their invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Ukraine recaptured the city during a counteroffensive later that same year, but Russian troops retained control of the eastern bank of the river, within drone range. This section of the frontline has remained largely unchanged for the past three years.
Russia denies striking civilian populations but refuses to cooperate with investigators, who have also attempted to investigate Ukrainian strikes on Russian-occupied territory on the other side of the frontline.
Photo: Reuters