A 52-year-old Ukrainian street vendor named Yuriy survived a targeted drone attack in the Kherson region, an incident that has drawn sharp condemnation from Ukrainian officials who describe it as a “human safari.” The attack, which occurred in a market space beside a roundabout in the Tavriiskyi district of northern Kherson, was captured in a video shared by President Volodymyr Zelensky on social media. The footage depicts a drone tracking the man as he attempts to evade it by maneuvering around a white van before the device eventually dives and detonates upon impact.
Yuriy, who was setting up crates of vegetables with his wife when the attack began, recounted hearing a distinct buzzing sound overhead. He described trying to signal the drone operator that he was not a threat, even holding up heads of garlic toward the camera to show he was merely a civilian vendor. “It could see that I had tomatoes out, some cucumbers and eggplants laid out on the floor,” Yuriy explained from his hospital bed. Despite his efforts to escape—including ducking under an umbrella while moving around his vehicle—the drone pursued him until it exploded.
Medical professionals confirmed that Yuriy sustained multiple shrapnel wounds, along with trauma and a concussion. President Zelensky emphasized the significance of the footage, stating on Telegram that the world must witness the evidence of Russia’s actions. He remarked that the video shows Russian soldiers “enjoying killings and tormenting people.” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also condemned the event as a “barbaric war crime,” characterizing such “human safari” tactics as a deliberate and systemic strategy by Russian forces to intimidate civilians living near the front line. He added that the operator knew full well they were targeting a civilian.
The use of remotely-operated drones to target civilians in the Kherson area has been documented previously. A 2025 United Nations report noted that Russian armed forces have recurrently killed and injured civilians in the region using these methods. The UN further stated that the common practice of posting videos of such attacks online constitutes the war crime of “outrages upon personal dignity.” While Russia, which launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, consistently denies targeting civilians, the attack on the vegetable vendor remains a focal point for calls for international condemnation.
