Vladimir Putin's troops have been hunting down Ukrainian civilians with drones and dropping bombs on them in what has sickeningly been dubbed a 'human safari.'
Horrifying footage shared on pro-Russian Telegram channels show the drones chasing civilian cars down before dropping bombs on them, leaving those inside deeply injured.
One particularly shocking video showed a drone stalking a blue car through dense suburbs in theKherson region.A bomb was seen dangling from the drone as it chased the car, whose owner was greeted by a pair of excited dogs.
As the car comes to a halt at a gate, the car door opens and one pup goes to welcome its owner home. At that moment, the drone drops its lethal package, sending the animal flying and another dog scrambling away.
Another video showed a series of drones flinging bombs at moving cars, causing them to swerve and crash. One clip showed a person staggering out of the car while bleeding heavily, before collapsing on the floor.
One particularly shocking video showed a drone stalking a blue car through dense suburbs in the Kherson region
One clip showed a car crashing after it was hit by a bomb
Horrifying footage shared on pro-Russian Telegram channels show the drones chasing civilian cars down before dropping bombs on them, leaving those inside deeply injured
Ukrainian officials have shared this advice in light of the increasingly common drone attacks on civilians
This was shared by Z-Bloggers with the caption: 'This is good practice for young drone operators to upgrade their skills and prepare for real combat operations.'
'Drones are a real pain for Kherson. Everyone is a target,' Oleksandr Prokudin, the head of the Kherson Oblast Military Administration told theKyiv Independent.
'Under attack are people walking, driving, bicycling, going to work or standing by grocery stores.'
He told the outlet that while Russians were striking targets around 100 times a day in July and August, the numbers have dramatically risen over autumn.
Another resident, an aid worker named Anastasia, told The Telegraph that people were unable to leave home.
'More and more residents of the city cannot leave the house, even for food, because there is a great possibility that they will not return home,' she told the British publication.
'It was so lucky my aunt came home unharmed.'
Her colleague Natalyathe said drones were taking a psychological toll, telling the newspaper that she struggles to sleep at night fearing the next attack.
'The same question spins in your head; "when will this nightmare end?"' she said.
Ukraine's TSN news program reported that a record high of 330 drone strikes and 224 explosive drops hit the region on September 9 alone.
The drone strikes have had a severe effect on those living in Ukraine as the invasion reached its 31st month.
A mother-of-two - also named Anastasia - told the Kyiv Independent she was cycling home as a drone chased her and dropped a grenade, sending titanium shards flying towards her and leaving her severely injured.
Seen in a wheelchair with bandages around her neck, she said in a video clip shared online: 'I heard a sound - a drone got up in the air from a house.
'I turned my head left... and see it is flying straight.
'Drones are a real pain for Kherson. Everyone is a target,' Oleksandr Prokudin, the head of the Kherson Oblast Military Administration said
While Russians were striking targets around 100 times a day in July and August, the numbers have dramatically risen over autumn
Ukraine's TSN news program reported that a record high of 330 drone strikes and 224 explosive drops hit the region on September 9 alone
A poster warning people of the dangers of enemy drones and what to do if they see one
— Zarina Zabrisky 🇺🇸🇺🇦 (@ZarinaZabrisky) October 3, 2024🚨Anastasia, a mother of two, was cycling home when a Russian drone chased her, dropped a grenade with titanium shrapnel, injuring her—and filmed it. The video was posted on Russian SM with a winky emoji.
More about #HumanSafari https://t.co/F586OHBpFR pic.twitter.com/1aOBmaZD82
'I turn my wheel right, it follows. I turn my wheel left, it still follows. It comes close and starts filming me. It realises that I have a ditch to my right and that I need to turn the wheel to the left so it drops the explosives and it falls down my side.
'It brushes my body, the grenade rolled down my body and it exploded right where I was pedalling.
'I curled up as much as I could and that's why I stayed alive. If I didn't pull my head in, I'd be dead.'
The Kyiv Post reported that from July 1 to September 9, nearly half of the 547 reported casualties were attributed to drone strikes. In September, there were over 3,000 drone attacks on civilians.
There have been many reports of Russian drones targeting kindergartens, shopping centres and supermarkets.
Ukrainian officials warned: 'All objects in the air should be perceived as hostile If you hear the sound of a drone or see a copter in the distance and high up, immediately run to shelter. Use basements, basement floors of buildings.
The Kyiv Post reported that from July 1 to September 9, nearly half of the 547 reported casualties were attributed to drone strikes
In September alone, there were over 3,000 drone attacks on civilians
A kindergarten was hit by a Russian drone
Sick 'human safari' videos were shared by pro-Russian bloggers
'Stay away from administrative buildings, strategic and military facilities, gas stations.'
Though Russia has been making inroads in Ukraine, Kyiv said onMonday its forces had struck a large oil terminal overnight on the occupied Crimean peninsula.
Kyiv has ramped up strikes targeting Russia's energy sector in recent months aiming to dent revenues used by Moscow to fund its invasion, now grinding through its third year.
'At night, a successful strike was carried out on the enemy's offshore oil terminal in temporarily occupied Feodosia, Crimea,' the Ukrainian military said in a post on social media.
Russian-installed authorities in Crimea said a fire had broken out at an oil facility in the Black Sea port town of some 70,000 people and that there were no casualties.
The defence ministry said that 12 Ukrainian attack drones had been downed over the peninsula overnight, of a total of 21 deployed by Kyiv against Russian targets.
'The Feodosia terminal is the largest in Crimea in terms of transshipment of oil products, which were used, among other things, to meet the needs of the Russian occupation army,' the Ukrainian military said, vowing to continue such attacks.
Ukraine insists the strikes are fair retaliation for Russian attacks on its own energy infrastructure that have plunged millions into darkness.