Russian Suicide Drone Kills 52-Year-Old Fruit Vendor in Kherson After Pursuit

Ukrainian National Police released a video showing a short-range Russian suicide drone pursuing and then exploding near a fruit vendor in the city of Kherson, where civilians are described as a daily target of unmanned aerial vehicles operated by Russian troops from the other side of the Dnieper River.

“for about 25 seconds”

ABC

The footage shows the vendor, identified as a 52-year-old man, running around a parked vehicle surrounded by boxes of fruit and vegetables for about 25 seconds before the drone detonates on impact.

ABC

BBC reported that the man escaped with multiple shrapnel wounds, concussion and trauma, after the drone swooped down on him as he ran around a white van.B

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky shared the video on social media, writing that it showed an instance of a Russian "safari" attack against civilians.

The BBC said the video was geolocated by BBC Verify to a market space beside a roundabout in the Tavriiskyi district in northern Kherson.B

Zelensky denounced the attack as a Russian "safari" and told supporters, "The world must see this," adding that it must see evidence that Russia has "gone mad" and that Russian soldiers are "enjoying killings and tormenting people."

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the video a "barbaric war crime" and said the safaris were a "deliberate and systemic Russian strategy," asserting that "The sadist operating this drone knows full well that he is targeting a civilian."

BBC

AFP’s report via BFM said the footage had not been authenticated by AFP, while describing the drone as an FPV (First Person View) remotely piloted device that followed the man before detonating its explosive payload.B

In a separate account, Euronews said Ukrainian national police posted on Telegram that the man in the video "shows no signs of being a fighter; he simply sells vegetables and fruits at the market."

Euronews also reported that Zelensky said Moscow’s forces showed "no remorse" and even acknowledged the crime, while calling for stronger pressure, security guarantees, and efforts to reduce Moscow’s military capabilities.

Ukrainian authorities said the attack would be presented as evidence to international bodies to investigate whether international humanitarian law was violated, after the Ukrainian government accused Russia of a possible war crime.

“would be presented as evidence to international bodies”

https

The police statement in Euronews said Russian forces were using drones against civilians, vehicles, public transport, and rescue services in Kherson almost every day, and it cited figures that "18 civilians were injured and two killed" in the Kherson region during Sunday alone.

BFM reported that the city of Kherson had about 280,000 inhabitants before the war and that it was under Russian control from March 2022 until its recapture by the Ukrainian army in November 2022.B

ABC said the video shows the drone hovering several meters high near a parked vehicle and then exploding, and it identified Oleksandr Prokudin as head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration.

In the BBC account, the UN said posting videos of civilians being killed and injured amounts to the war crime of outrages upon personal dignity, and it noted that Russia denies targeting civilians even as the UN report described recurrent drone attacks in the area.B