Human Rights Watch (HRW) claims that Russian forces have been using drones to attack and hunt civilians in Ukraine.
In a report released on Tuesday, HRW claimed that in its more than three-year conflict with Ukraine, the Russian military has repeatedly used unmanned drones to attack civilian targets. According to the NGO, dozens of civilians have been killed and hundreds have been hurt as a result of a war-related lapse.
The rights organization claims that Russia “deliberately or recklessly” hunted civilians and civilian objects, particularly in the southern city of Kherson, using “commercially available quadcopter drones” made domestically and in China, in response to video from Russian drones, witnesses, and survivors.
Russian drone operators can track their targets with high-definition video feeds, which leaves little doubt that their goal is to kill, maim, and terrorize civilians, according to Belkis Wille, a HRW director on arms and conflict.
They “exemplify why the international community needs to support all means of accountability for Ukrainian victims of Russian war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
The findings support claims made by Kherson residents and government officials earlier this year that Russian drone operators were conducting “human safaris” as part of their training.
HRW sifted through 83 videos posted on Russian military-affiliated Telegram channels, as well as visual materials provided by witnesses and researchers, and interviewed 36 survivors and witnesses who have witnessed attacks.
Between June and December 2024, Russian forces recorded at least 45 “deliberate drone attacks” on people and civilian property, including healthcare facilities.
Around the same time, Kherson’s authorities reported 500 civilian injuries and at least 30 fatalities as drone attacks.
According to a UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission report from January 2025, drone attacks in Kherson caused 70% of civilian casualties.
The attacks are intended to “instill terror in the civilian population of Kherson, part of a widespread attack against that population,” according to the report.
Source: Aljazeera
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