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When Olena Horlova leaves the house or walks through town outside the southern Ukrainian city KhersonHe fears he is a target. They believe Russian drones may be waiting on rooftops, on the roadside or targeting their car.
For her own safety and that of her two daughters, the girls stay indoors, and she remains vigilant – sometimes returning home at night through dark roads without headlights so as not to be seen.
Having lived through the occupation, refusing to cooperate with Russian forces and hiding from them, Horlova, like many other residents, found that even after her town was liberated in 2022, the hardship was not over.
Kherson was one of the first places where Russian forces began using short-range, first-person view, or FPV drones against civilians. The drones are equipped with livestreaming cameras that let operators see and select their targets in real time. This strategy later extended over 300 kilometers (185 mi) along the right bank of the Dnipro River in the Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson and Mykolaiv regions.
united nations‘The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine says the attacks leave no doubt about their intentions. In an October report, the commission said the attacks repeatedly killed and injured civilians, destroyed homes and forced thousands to flee, concluding that they amounted to crimes against humanity such as murder and forced transfer.
“We are living with the hope that one day this will finally end,” Horlowa said in a trembling voice. “What matters to us is a ceasefire, or the front line being pushed further away. Then it will be easier for us.”
hunt the survivors
Horlova lives in Komishyny, a village just outside Kherson and just 4 kilometers (2½ miles) from the Dnipro River, where the level of intense attacks remains the same despite Ukrainian forces retaking the town from Russian occupation in November 2022 – nearly nine months after Russia launched a full-scale invasion on February 24 that year.
But the war did not end here. Instead, it moved to a phase in which the area has effectively become a “human safari” with locals and the military describing it as a testing ground where people often become targets of drone attacks.
Horlova says FPVs often land on rooftops when their batteries run out and then wait.
“When people, cars or even a cyclist appear, the drone suddenly rises and drops the explosive,” he said. “It’s gotten to the point where they even release them on animals – cows, goats –.”
They believe the civilians have been hunted in “revenge” for the celebrations that took place when Kherson was liberated.
The report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine stated that the attacks had spread terror among civilians and violated their right to life and other fundamental human rights. Investigators found that Russian units carried out the attacks on the occupied Left Bank of Dnipro and identified the specific drone units, operators and commanders involved. He also noted that the Russian Telegram The channels regularly share videos of the attacks, often with humorous captions and more threats.
The UN commission said it investigated Russian claims that Ukrainian forces had carried out drone strikes on civilians in the occupied territories, was unable to conclude its investigation because it did not have access to the area, could not ensure the protection of witnesses and did not receive answers from Russian authorities.
invisible dome
Intercepts obtained by The Associated Press from the 310th Separate Marine Electronic Warfare Battalion show Russian FPV drones that appear to hunt vehicles. Videos capture drones flying low over roads and locking onto moving or parked cars – often pickups, supply vehicles, sedans and even clearly marked ambulances – before diving in for a strike.
The commander of the 310th Battalion, which guards 470 kilometers (about 300 miles) of skies over southern Ukraine, including Kherson, says at least 300 drones fly toward the city each day. In October alone, the number of drones flying over Kherson was 9,000.
“This area is like a training ground,” said battalion commander Dmytro Lyashok, a 16-year military veteran and one of Ukraine’s early pioneers in electronic warfare. “They bring new Russian contingents here to gain experience before sending them elsewhere.” The AP could not independently verify the claim.
He said, despite the sheer volume of drones – a figure that does not include other types of weapons such as artillery and glide bombs – his forces managed to disable more than 90%.
According to the UN Human Rights Office, short-range drone strikes have become the leading cause of civilian casualties near the front lines. Local officials say that since July 2024, more than 200 civilians have been killed and more than 2,000 injured in the three southern regions, with most of the victims being men. About 3,000 homes were damaged or destroyed.
During a surprise visit to Kherson in November, angelina jolie The persistent overhead threat was described as a “heavy presence”.
“There was a moment when we had to stop and wait when a drone was flying overhead,” he wrote on Instagram. “I was in protective gear, and for me it was just a matter of a few days. Families here live with this every day.”
human hunting
In one of Kherson’s main hospitals treating drone victims, 70-year-old Natalia Naumova is recovering after a martyr drone attack, which carries a heavier explosive than an FPV drone, caused blast injuries to her left leg on October 20.
She says the strike occurred during the night while she was waiting for an evacuation bus that was scheduled to arrive the next morning at a school in the village of Ingenern, where she was temporarily sheltered.
“There were a lot of drones flying over us,” she said, adding that even after the windows were broken and the plane was boarded up, she rarely left the house. ,People There is survival, not survival. I never thought that such a tragedy would happen to me.”
Dr. Yaven Haran, the hospital’s deputy medical chief, says injuries caused by drone strikes range from dismemberment to fatal wounds.
“It’s just hunting people. There’s no other name for it,” he said.
He says patients injured in Russian attacks, including drone strikes, arrive at the hospital every day. Last month alone, it treated 85 inpatients and 105 outpatients who were injured by the blast, all from shelling and drone strikes. It is the only hospital in the area equipped to handle the most serious cases.
On August 26, Haran came under FPV drone fire while driving through nearby Mykolaiv with his wife. Rescue workers stopped their car on the highway and warned that there was a drone overhead.
He recalled, “I went after them. The drone circled and, on the next pass, flew straight into their vehicle – the driver’s door.” The shrapnel went through the car in front, while the car parked behind saved it.
He arrived at the hospital with a hypertensive crisis and was later treated for a concussion. “Sometimes I still lose words and feel shaky,” he said. “This all happened in less than 10 minutes.”
For people in Kherson, the experience of occupation, and the moment the city was liberated, still shapes how they tolerate frequent drone attacks.
He said, “We stood firm until liberation – we will stand firm even till peace.”