A Russian drone pursued and injured a street vendor in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson on Tuesday, according to Ukrainian officials and footage that has drawn accusations of war crimes. The incident occurred as Russia intensifies its drone and missile attacks across Ukraine.
The video depicts a low-flying drone hunting a man in his 50s around his roadside vegetable stand before an explosion near his vehicle. Officials stated the vendor survived the blast but sustained shock and shrapnel injuries. His wife was reportedly nearby at the time of the attack.
The Kherson region has been a frequent target of Russian drone attacks, with residents describing the area as a "human safari zone" where civilians are allegedly hunted from the sky. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha condemned the act, calling it a "barbaric Russian war crime" and alleging the drone pilot intentionally targeted a civilian.
"Thousands of similar crimes never come to the public eye," Sybiha said in a statement, urging international condemnation and justice. He further described the drone pilot as a "sadist."
In a separate incident, local officials reported that two children and an elderly woman were killed in overnight Russian guided bomb strikes on the northern Ukrainian city of Sumy.
Both Russia and Ukraine deny targeting civilians in the conflict, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
