Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has shared a disturbing video on social media showing a Russian drone hunting down a civilian in southern Ukraine, an incident he characterized as a Russian "safari" attack. The footage captures a drone pursuing a street vendor on a city street in the Kherson region, eventually detonating near him and causing injuries.
Speaking from a hospital bed in a video later posted by the Kherson regional governor, the vendor was identified as Yuriy, a 52-year-old vegetable seller. Yuriy explained that he and his wife had just begun setting out crates of tomatoes, cucumbers, and eggplants next to his van when they heard a distinctive overhead buzzing. While his wife managed to run away, the drone focused on Yuriy. In an attempt to show the operator he was not filming, Yuriy held up heads of garlic toward the drone's camera. Despite his efforts to flee around the other side of his vehicle, the drone even ducked under his umbrella before diving in and exploding.
Yuriy survived the blast but suffered a concussion, trauma, and multiple shrapnel wounds, according to his doctor. His white van, which he had cowered behind during the pursuit, was completely destroyed.
The incident was geolocated to a market space adjacent to a roundabout in the Tavriiskyi district of northern Kherson. Kherson sits only a few miles from the front line, making it a frequent target for these types of operations. The earliest public copy of the footage appeared on a pro-Ukrainian Instagram account on Tuesday morning.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha condemned the attack as a "barbaric war crime" and described the "safari" tactics as a "deliberate and systemic Russian strategy." Sybiha noted that the operator of the drone was fully aware they were targeting a civilian, calling for international condemnation of the ongoing campaign to intimidate local residents. Zelensky echoed these sentiments on Telegram, urging the world to witness "every piece of evidence that Russia has gone mad, and every fact that Russian soldiers are enjoying killings and tormenting people."
The term "human safari" refers to the deployment of remotely-operated drones against civilians, a tactic frequently used by Russian forces to terrorize residents in front-line areas. A 2025 United Nations report confirmed that Russian armed forces have "recurrently killed and injured civilians" in the Kherson region using drones. Furthermore, the UN noted that drone operators often post footage of these attacks online, allowing thousands to watch the final moments of victims. The UN report stated that "posting videos of civilians being killed and injured amounts to the war crime of outrages upon personal dignity."
