A Russian drone pursued and attacked Yuriy, a 52-year-old Ukrainian street vegetable vendor, in the Tavriiskyi district of Kherson near the frontline on August 4, 2026, causing shrapnel injuries and concussion [1, 2, 3, 4]. The drone chased Yuriy around a van used as his street stand before exploding close by [1, 2, 3, 4].
President Volodymyr Zelensky posted video footage of the attack on social media, calling it a "human safari" and a war crime. He urged, "The world must see this. It must see every piece of evidence that Russia has gone mad, and every fact that Russian soldiers are enjoying killings and tormenting people" [1]. Zelensky added, "Today, many were shocked by yet another video of the drone ‘safari’ Russians are carrying out against civilians in Kherson. Russia has gone mad" [4].
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha labeled the assault a "deliberate, systemic Russian strategy targeting civilians" and a war crime. He said, "The sadist operating this drone knows full well that he is targeting a civilian." Sybiha called for a "powerful defence and deterrence package for Ukraine, and reliable, guaranteed security" [1, 2].
Independent verification by Reuters and the BBC geolocated the drone footage to a market area in Kherson, confirming the video’s authenticity [1, 2, 3, 4]. Russia denies intentionally targeting civilians in drone strikes and accuses Ukraine of terrorism in other incidents [5, 2, 3].
The UN reported a surge in civilian casualties amid intensifying Russian strikes in 2026. It documented 1,396 civilian deaths and 7,978 injuries in the first half of the year—a 37% increase from 2025 [2, 3]. Simultaneous incidents include Russian guided bomb attacks on Sumy killing civilians, and Russian accusations of Ukrainian drone strikes against civilians [2, 3].
On August 4, following the drone attack, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister publicly accused Russia of war crimes related to the incident [2, 3]. Earlier, on August 3, Russia accused Ukraine of a drone attack that killed civilians at Gelendzhik on the Black Sea coast [2, 3].
The drone attack remains a focal point amid ongoing disputes over responsibilities for civilian targeting. Ukraine attributes the systematic strikes to Russia, while Moscow denies intent and casts blame on Kyiv [1, 5, 2, 3, 4].
