Drone Targets Civilian Vendor in Kherson, Causing Injuries
Footage emerges of an attack in Tavriiskyi district as conflicting claims arise over civilian casualties in the ongoing conflict.
Image: Eddie Pollard / AI
Callum Smith
A video depicts a drone targeting a civilian street vendor in Kherson, Ukraine.
The man, in his 50s, endured shock, shrapnel injuries, concussion, and blast injuries in Kherson's Tavriiskyi district. The incident, geolocated to a market space, also resulted in the complete destruction of his van.
Andrii Sybiha asserts Russia commits a war crime by deliberately targeting a civilian street vendor. Sybiha further claims the drone operator knows they target a civilian.
Police also claim Russians deliberately hunt civilians. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission reported 1,396 deaths and 7,978 injuries in Ukraine during the first half of 2026.
Elsewhere, an elderly woman and two children were reportedly killed in Sumy by Russian guided bomb strikes. Russia, however, accused Ukraine of causing civilian casualties in a drone debris incident in Gelendzhik.
Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation blamed Russian air defense for the Gelendzhik incident. Both Russia and Ukraine deny intentionally targeting civilians, though Russia has claimed Ukraine caused civilian casualties with drones and long-range missiles.
Russians have often deployed remotely-operated drones against civilians to terrify residents of front-line areas in Ukraine. Footage, yet to be independently verified, shows a man sprinting between parked vehicles while a drone pursues him.
UN indicated that The UN claims that posting videos of civilians being killed and injured amounts to the war crime of outrages upon personal dignity.