A 52-year-old fruit seller in Kherson narrowly survived after a Russian drone circled him before striking, leaving him with a concussion and shrapnel injuries. The man was setting up his stall at a farmer's market in Tsentralnyi at 6:30am when he heard the drone overhead, ran for his life in circles around his van, and was caught by the blast. Footage shows him sitting down after the explosion with blood streaming down his body.
Zelensky condemns 'safari' attacks
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted the footage on X, saying the 'world must see this'. He described it as a deliberate hunt: 'A Russian drone deliberately hunted down a man selling vegetables and detonated right next to him.' He added that Russians 'openly boasting about tormenting people' and that ordinary people in Kherson face these 'safaris' daily.
Ukraine's foreign ministry also shared the footage, emphasizing that the target was 'a civilian at work', not a military position. They called it a 'deliberate campaign of terror against innocent civilians' and urged stronger pressure on Russia.
Broader context of attacks
The incident follows a drone explosion on a Black Sea resort that killed seven Russians and injured 17. The Krasnodar region governor accused Ukraine of a 'deliberate strike on civilians', though both sides deny targeting civilians deliberately.
On Sunday, Russian forces attacked a civilian car in Kherson's Dniprovskyi district, killing a woman and injuring two others. Additionally, a warehouse facility near St Petersburg was hit by drones, according to regional governor Alexander Drozdenko.
