Ukraine Accuses Russia of War Crime
Shocking video shows a drone chasing a civilian as he tries to hide behind a van, then exploding.
Shocking video shows a drone chasing a civilian as he tries to hide behind a van, then exploding.
Ukraine on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, accused Russia of committing a war crime after a video was released showing a drone chasing and wounding a vegetable vendor in the southern city of Kherson. The footage, released by Ukrainian police, sparked a wave of condemnation, with officials in Kyiv calling the incident further proof of deliberate terror against civilians.
The harrowing footage shows a drone following a man around a van he used as a street stall. As he tries to take cover behind the vehicle, the drone explodes. Police confirmed that the man, identified only as 52-year-old Yuriy, survived the attack but sustained shrapnel injuries and suffered shock.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky strongly condemned the attack via social media. "Today, many were shocked by another video of a 'drone safari' that Russians are conducting against civilians in Kherson," Zelensky wrote, adding that "Russia has gone mad." He called for additional pressure on Moscow and strong security guarantees for Ukraine.
"We must act and support life in ways that force Russia to seriously consider peace, instead of expanding the range of its drones," the Ukrainian president said. Reuters confirmed the authenticity of the location based on buildings, road layout, and vegetation that match satellite imagery, but the date of the footage could not be independently confirmed.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stated that the attack is part of a deliberate Russian campaign to intimidate civilians. "This barbaric Russian war crime in Kherson demands international condemnation and justice, but thousands of similar crimes never come to light," Sybiha wrote on Telegram. He added that the drone operator knew he was targeting a civilian, calling him a "sadist."
On the same day, Tuesday, August 4, two children and an elderly woman were killed in Russian bomb attacks on the city of Sumy in northern Ukraine, confirmed regional governor Oleh Hrihorov. These attacks are part of a broader pattern of escalating violence against the civilian population.
According to data from the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, 1,396 civilians were killed and 7,978 wounded in the first six months of 2026. This represents a 37 percent increase compared to the same period in 2025. The UN notes that the rise in civilian casualties is largely due to intensified Russian long-range missile and drone attacks on urban centers far from the front line.
The conflict continues on the other side as well. On Monday, August 3, Russia accused Ukraine of terrorism after seven people, including three children, were killed and 60 wounded when a drone struck a beach in the resort town of Gelendzhik on the Black Sea. Moscow claims the attack was deliberately aimed at civilians.
However, a Ukrainian official offered a completely different version of events, claiming that the drone fell on the beach only after being shot down by Russian air defense. "Ukraine uses its weapons exclusively against Russia's military-industrial complex and economic infrastructure facilities," the unnamed official said. Both sides deny deliberately targeting civilians in the war that began with Russia's invasion in February 2022.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, video footage emerged purportedly showing the moment a Ukrainian strike drone hit a launcher of a Russian S-400 air defense system in occupied Kerch. That system was defending the Kerch Bridge and nearby ferry crossings from drone and missile attacks.
