Russia accused of ‘hunting down’ Ukrainian civilians with deadly drones | World | News
Civilians in Ukraine have been “hunted” by Russian drones, UN investigators have been told. According to a UN inquiry, Russia has been chasing civilians who live near the frontline with drones, forcing thousands to flee their homes and hunting them down. The report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine found civilians were chased over long distances by drones with mounted cameras, and sometimes then attacked with fire bombs or explosives while seeking shelter, Reuters has reported.
The findings were based on hundreds of verified videos as well as interviews with 226 victims, witnesses, aid workers and local authorities. Some of the interviewed survivors said they felt “hunted” and perpetrators had allegedly also used the term in drone videos posted online. In August 2024, one woman from Kherson was pursued by a drone as she parked her car. She was then attacked and injured by it, seeking refuge in her garage. Her house was also struck by two more drones, the report said.
The drone attacks had caused a sharp decrease in the population in some areas, according to the report.
“These attacks were committed as part of a coordinated policy to drive out civilians from those territories and amount to the crime against humanity of forcible transfer of population,” said the 17-page report to be presented to the United Nations General Assembly this week.
Investigators said civilians were intentionally targeted across a 300-kilometer area spanning the Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, and Mykolaiv regions, over a period of one year. First responders, including ambulances and firefighters, were also targeted, despite clear humanitarian markings.
“There can be no doubt about these drone operators acting with intent,” Erik Mose, Chair of the Inquiry, told Reuters. “They are really pursuing human beings, be they in their gardens, at home or in the street,” he said.
Ukraine has also struck civilian infrastructure targets in Russia and in Russian-held parts of Ukraine, though on a far smaller scale. Russia denies deliberately targeting civilians and refuses to cooperate with the UN commission, which has previously accused the Kremlin of war crimes such as the deportation of Ukrainian children.
