Ukraine: According to the UN report, Russia is specifically hunting civilians with drones

According to the United Nations, Russia is using drones to specifically hunt civilians near the front line in Ukraine. The aim is to drive people out of these areas, according to the report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, which is to be presented to the UN General Assembly this week. Accordingly, civilians are pursued over long distances by drones and are sometimes attacked with firebombs or explosives while searching for protection. “These attacks were committed as part of a coordinated strategy to displace civilians from these areas,” the 17-page document said.

The investigation is based on interviews with 226 people and on viewing hundreds of verified online videos. In August 2024, a woman from Kherson was followed by a drone as she parked her car. When she sought shelter in her garage, she was attacked and injured by the drone. On the same day, two more drones arrived and hit her house, which she then left. The attacks took place over a period of more than a year in three regions in southern Ukraine, close to the front line and across the Dnipro River from Russian forces.

“There can be no doubt that these drone pilots are acting on purpose,” the chairman of the investigative commission, Erik Mose, told the Reuters news agency. “They really do stalk people, whether in their gardens, at home or on the street.” Some of those interviewed by UN investigators said they felt hunted. The drone attacks have led to a sharp decline in population in some areas. In some places only older people and people with disabilities remain. Firefighters, paramedics and other first responders have also been attacked, cutting off the local population from emergency services.

Russia denies targeting civilians in Ukraine, even though its forces have killed thousands of them since the invasion began three and a half years ago. Ukraine has also attacked civilian infrastructure targets in Russia and Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine, although on a much smaller scale.