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Russia is using the civilian population of Ukrainian cities to improve its kamikaze drone attacks and the skills of drone operators. Western media believe that the occupiers are “experimenting” with civilians in this way.
Financial Times reported that since mid-summer, the civilian population of Kherson has become the target of an unprecedented experiment in modern European warfare: a coordinated Russian campaign to destroy the city by targeting its residents with strike drones.
The report notes that drones, sometimes in swarms, hover over buildings, penetrate structures, and chase people in their cars, on bicycles, or simply walking. Their targets are civilians.
Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson regional military administration, believes the Russians are “hunting” civilians: “Imagine the psychological impact this has on a person.”
According to Prokudin, the regional prosecutor’s office, and the police, since mid-July, Kherson and neighboring villages along the western bank of the Dnipro River have been subjected to over 9,500 attacks using small drones, resulting in at least 37 deaths and hundreds of injuries.
Prokudin mentioned that Russia had deployed some of its “best drone units” across the Dnipro River.
He said that from the opposite bank of the city, Russians launch the most modern drone models, perfecting combat tactics and training new operators for their invasion.
Dozens of videos of drone attacks on civilians have been posted on Russian military and pro-military Telegram channels. The CIR project analyzed and verified 90 of these in a recent report.
CIR found that the “vast majority” of attacks were targeted either at moving or stationary vehicles.
According to Prokudin and other officials, the Ukrainian side suspects that Kherson was used as a “target practice” site.
The devices used included FPV drones, Chinese Mavic drones, and sometimes large “Lancets,” targeting vulnerable, everyday locations: crowded markets, gas stations, cafes, post offices, and humanitarian aid centers.
It is noted that since the Russian invasion, the population of Kherson region, originally 1 million, has decreased to 158,000. Kherson, which had 250,000 residents, now has only 60,000.
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