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France 24
France 24
Politics
Sébastian SEIBT

‘Not an isolated incident’: Russian drones stalk Ukraine’s civilians in ‘human safaris’

Civilians flee airborne drones in this graphic.
An independent UN commission has described Russia's use of short-range drones to target civilians as a "war crime". © Studio graphique France Médias Monde

The video of a Ukrainian cyclist being targeted and killed by a short-range drone posted – and later deleted – by the Russian military Friday left viewers outraged and shaken. But it’s not the first time that Russian drone operators have been accused of terrorising Ukrainian civilians by deliberately targeting them in “human safaris” denounced as a war crime by an independent UN commission.

First, he freezes, caught off guard. Then the young Ukrainian cyclist begins to backpedal awkwardly, his eyes never leaving the Russian drone that hovers ahead of him. It moves closer, and he swings his leg over the bike and tries to run. He doesn’t make it.

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