Video shows Russian drone chasing Ukrainian street vendor in ‘human safari’ attack
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has shared footage of a Russian drone chasing and attacking a civilian street vendor in the Kherson region, calling it evidence of a "safari" attack against non-combatants. The video shows the drone pursuing the man as he tries to shelter behind a van before it dives in and explodes, injuring him. Ukrainian officials, including Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, have described such attacks as a deliberate and systemic Russian strategy, and the incident has renewed international attention on the use of drones to terrorise civilians in front-line areas.
The victim, identified as 52-year-old vegetable seller Yuriy, was filmed speaking from hospital after the attack, describing how he held up produce to show the drone operator he was not a threat before the drone struck anyway. He suffered concussion, trauma and shrapnel wounds, and his van was destroyed. BBC Verify geolocated the footage to a market near a roundabout in Kherson's Tavriiskyi district, an area only a few miles from the front line where a 2025 UN report found Russian forces had "recurrently killed and injured civilians" using drones, with the UN stating that publishing such footage amounts to a war crime.
In short
- Russian drone filmed chasing and bombing a Kherson street vendor
- Zelensky calls it evidence of "human safari" attacks on civilians
- Victim survived with concussion and shrapnel wounds; UN calls it a war crime
Explained simply
Kherson is a southern Ukrainian region where Russian and Ukrainian forces face each other across a shifting front line. Some towns and neighbourhoods are close enough to the fighting to be within reach of small drones.
Drones can carry explosives and be operated remotely, allowing attacks without the operator being nearby. The people involved include Ukrainian civilians, who may be going about daily life, and Russian forces, which Ukraine accuses of using drones to target them.
The central issue is how civilians are protected under the laws of war, which prohibit deliberately attacking them. Reports of repeated drone strikes in Kherson have drawn attention to the risks for people living near the front line and to questions about who is responsible for such attacks.