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The United Nations investigation has concluded that Russian forces are systematically using drone Pursuing and displacing civilians near the front lines ukraineA Campaign It was described as a crime against humanity.
The report detailed how individuals were driven from their homes, followed for long distances by camera-equipped drones, and later targeted with incendiary devices or explosives while attempting to find shelter.
This strategy has forced thousands of people to leave the entire area.
“These attacks were carried out as part of a coordinated policy of evacuation of civilians from those areas and the forced transfer of populations that constitutes a crime against humanity,” said the 17-page report, to be presented to the UN General Assembly this week.
Its findings were based on interviews with 226 people, including victims, witnesses, aid workers and local officials, as well as hundreds of verified online videos.
The attacks described in the report occurred over a period of more than a year in three regions of southern Ukraine, near the front lines and across the Dnipro River from Russian forces.
Russia denies deliberately targeting civilians in Ukraine, even though its forces have killed thousands of people since the full-scale invasion three and a half years ago. Ukraine has also attacked civilian infrastructure targets in Russia and Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine, although on a much smaller scale.
In August 2024, a Kherson woman was followed by a drone as she parked her car and then attacked and injured her while she was taking shelter in her garage, the report said. It said that the same day two more drones arrived and attacked his house – which he later abandoned.
drone attacks The report said this has led to a drastic decline in population in some areas, with only old people and disabled people left in some places.
“There can be no doubt as to the intentions of these drone operators,” Eric Mosse, the head of the investigation, told Reuters. “They are actually following humans, whether they are in their gardens, at home or on the street,” he said.
Some survivors interviewed by UN investigators said they felt “victimized” and Moïse said the perpetrators had also used the term in drone videos posted online.
Even fire brigades, medics and other first responders have been affected, leaving locals deprived of emergency services where they are needed most, the report said.
A UN investigation said in May that such attacks amounted to crimes against humanity such as murder. But the report also found that this was a forced transfer and that it occurred over a wide area of more than 300 km (180 mi).
The report also notes that Russian authorities have taken coordinated actions to deport or transfer civilians from areas of the Zaporizhia region under their control, which amounts to war crimes.