Ukraine's National Police released footage on Tuesday appearing to show a Russian drone deliberately targeting a civilian man at a market in Kherson. The clip, shared by President Volodymyr Zelensky on X, shows a drone seemingly pursuing a street seller around his van before exploding.
Accusations of war crimes
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha accused Russia of committing a war crime, writing on X: "This barbaric Russian war crime in Kherson requires international condemnation and justice, yet thousands of similar crimes never reach the public eye."
The Ukrainian police wrote on Telegram: "This is exactly how the Russians are fighting their war — they deliberately target civilians." They added that the man in the video "shows no signs of being a combatant, he is simply selling vegetables and fruit at the market."
Survivor's account
The 52-year-old vegetable seller survived the incident but sustained blast injuries, shrapnel wounds, and a concussion, according to police. Speaking from hospital, he claimed to have shown his vegetables to the drone to "prove he wasn't a threat," but the unmanned vehicle still "flew at him."
Law enforcement authorities said they were working to document what they described as another war crime allegedly committed by Russian forces.
Zelensky's response
President Zelensky claimed the footage was further evidence of what he called a Russian "drone safari" targeting civilians in Kherson. He said: "The world must see this. It must see every piece of evidence that Russia has gone mad and that its soldiers take pleasure in killing and abusing civilians."
He added: "Without pressure on Russia, the dismantling of its capacity for aggression, and real security guarantees, it is simply impossible to imagine the world being able to coexist with this evil. We must remain resolute in defending life. We must act and support life in ways that force Russia to seriously think about peace rather than expanding the range of its drones."
Past incidents
Similar incidents, seemingly showing a drone pursuing a civilian, have been reported in Kherson previously. A 2025 UN report said it had found Russian armed forces "recurrently killed and injured civilians" in the area by using drones to target them.
