For "training purposes"

Russians practice attacks on civilians with drones

(Bild: x.com/Gerashchenko_en)

Russian soldiers are to use armed drones to hunt down civilians in Kherson in southern Ukraine. Inexperienced drone pilots are said to be practicing for real missions. Frightened locals call the cowardly attacks "human safaris".

The danger from above is omnipresent in Kherson - a video published on X by Anton Gerashenko, a former advisor to the Ukrainian interior minister, purports to show a drone attack on a civilian.

The victim is driving unsuspectingly in his car when a grenade smashes through the windshield and explodes. 

The alleged drone attacks are shown in video footage.(Bild: x.com/Gerashchenko_en)

"Good practice for young drone pilots"
The driver then jumps out of the car - blood can be seen on the asphalt. Russian military bloggers are said to comment on such footage as follows: "This is good practice for young drone pilots to improve their skills and prepare for real combat missions", as Geraschenko reports on X.

Geraschenko's article on X:

"Drones are a real scourge for Kherson. Everyone is a target," Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson oblast military administration, told the Kyiv Independent. "People who are walking, driving or cycling, going to work or standing in front of grocery stores are affected."

Up to 330 drone attacks in a single day
In July and August 2024, there was an average of 100 drone attacks per day. The news platform TSN reported a sad record on September 9: 330 drone attacks and 224 explosives were dropped on this day alone. 

More drone attacks are shown in this article: 

First responders are pursued by drones
The drone pilots control the aircraft from the other side of the Dnipro River, where Moscow still controls large parts of the area. First a reconnaissance drone is sent, then FPV (first-person view) drones are used. "It drops a grenade. Or a Coca-Cola can with explosives," says a local doctor, describing the tactics. First responders are also attacked. She herself had already been followed by drones several times when she was on her way to an emergency site.