(Image from AFP PHOTO / NATIONAL POLICE OF UKRAINE) "[Image credit: AFP PHOTO / National Police of Ukraine]" []
The Ukrainian president posted a clip showing a drone pursuing a merchant before exploding near him, causing injuries, and accused Russia of conducting a human hunting attack. [Ukraine, drone attack, human hunting, Russia]
On Tuesday, 4 Aug 2026 GMT+7, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shared a video on social media showing a drone chasing a man in a southern city. Zelensky said this evidence shows the Russian military is using a “safari” (hunting) style attack against civilians. [Volodymyr Zelensky, drone attack, Ukraine, Russia, human safari]
The video shows a drone chasing a street vendor in a city in Ukraine’s Kherson region. The man tries to flee as the drone circles overhead, then chases him as he runs around a white van, finally swooping down and exploding close to him. [drone footage, Kherson region, civilian attack, explosion]
A doctor revealed the man survived but suffered multiple shrapnel wounds, a concussion, and psychological trauma. [injury report, shrapnel wounds, concussion, trauma]
Using remotely controlled drones to attack civilians, sometimes called “human safari,” is a tactic frequently employed by the Russian military to intimidate people in frontline areas of Ukraine. [drone warfare, civilian intimidation, Russian tactics]
"The world must see this," Zelensky wrote on Telegram. "The world must see all the evidence revealing Russia’s madness and the truth that Russian soldiers are enjoying killing and torturing people." [Zelensky quote, Telegram, war crimes accusation]
Andriy Sybiha, Ukraine’s foreign ministry official, said the video shows "a brutal war crime." [Andriy Sybiha, war crime, Ukraine statement]
Sybiha added that the "safari" attack is a deliberate and systematic Russian strategy. He said, "The bloodthirsty operator controlling this drone fully knows they are targeting civilians," and called the attack part of a campaign intended to intimidate the population, urging the global community to condemn it. [systematic strategy, civilian targeting, international condemnation]
Later, the Kherson governor posted a video interview with the man involved, named Yuriy, a 52-year-old vegetable vendor, speaking from his hospital bed after the drone attack. [Yuriy, Kherson governor, hospital interview]
Yuriy said he and his wife were setting up vegetable crates beside their van when they heard a buzzing sound overhead. When his wife ran away, the drone targeted him instead. He tried waving garlic towards the drone’s camera to show he was not filming. [Yuriy testimony, drone targeting, civilian encounter]
“It was clear I was placing tomatoes, cucumbers, and eggplants on the ground,” Yuriy said. “The drone even dove under an umbrella as I ran to the other side.” [Yuriy quote, drone behavior, civilian market]
BBC Verify checked the video’s geographic coordinates and confirmed it was filmed near a market by a roundabout in Tavriiskyi district, north of Kherson. [BBC Verify, geographic verification, Tavriiskyi market]
Russia has long used “safari” attacks in Kherson because the city lies just a few miles from the frontline. A 2025 UN report found evidence of repeated killings and abuse of civilians there by Russian forces using drones to target people. [Kherson frontline, UN report, civilian abuses, drone attacks]
Videos recorded by drones just before exploding on targets are often posted online, allowing thousands to witness the victim’s final terrifying moments. [online propaganda, drone videos, civilian victims]
"Posting videos of killings and harm to civilians constitutes a war crime that gravely insults human dignity," the UN stated. [UN statement, war crimes, human dignity]
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Source: [source attribution]bbc [news agency]