Ukraine says drone video shows civilian hunt in Kherson

Ukrainian authorities accused Russia on Tuesday of using a drone to deliberately chase and attack a civilian in the southern city of Kherson, after a video circulated showing a man pursued by a first-person-view drone.

AFP could not immediately verify the footage. It showed a man taking shelter behind a vehicle as a remotely piloted FPV drone followed him before detonating an explosive charge.

Yaroslav Shanko, head of the Kherson City Military Administration, said on Telegram that the man was a vendor at a Kherson street market who suffered bodily injuries but survived.

Ukraine's police said the 52-year-old sustained blast trauma, shrapnel wounds and a concussion. The police accused Russian forces of deliberately hunting civilians.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga called the incident a Russian war crime and said it required international condemnation and justice. Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said the video showed what he called Russia's tactic of pursuing and killing innocent people.

Kherson was under Russian control from March to November 2022. Russian forces are now positioned on the opposite bank of the Dnieper river and regularly strike the city, including with drones.

The United Nations has reported an increase in civilian deaths in the conflict during 2026. Russian authorities also regularly accuse Kyiv of deliberately targeting civilians with drones, particularly in regions bordering Ukraine.