NGO urges Russian accountability for war crimes in targeting Ukrainians with drones.
Russian forces have been using drones to hunt and attack civilians in Ukraine and continue to do so, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).
In a report released on Tuesday, HRW stated that the Russian military has repeatedly deployed unmanned drones to attack civilian targets in its more than three-year war with Ukraine. The NGO said that dozens of civilians have been killed and hundreds injured in violation of the laws of war.
Referencing video from Russian drones and witnesses and survivors, the rights watchdog alleges that Russia has “deliberately or recklessly” hunted civilians and civilian objects, particularly in the southern city of Kherson, using “commercially available quadcopter drones” made domestically and in China.
“Russian drone operators are able to track their targets, with high-resolution video feeds, leaving little doubt that the intent is to kill, maim, and terrify civilians,” Belkis Wille, a director on arms and conflict at HRW, said in a statement.
“They exemplify why the international community needs to support all avenues of accountability for victims of Russian war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine.”
The findings support reports from residents and officials in Kherson earlier this year that said Russian drone operators were training by targeting civilians in “human safaris”.
HRW interviewed 36 survivors and witnesses to attacks and combed through 83 videos uploaded on Russian military-affiliated Telegram channels, as well as visual materials provided by witnesses and researchers.
Overall, at least 45 “deliberate drone attacks” by Russian forces from June to December 2024 on civilians and civilian objects, including healthcare facilities, were recorded.
Authorities in Kherson reported at least 30 deaths and 500 civilian injuries from drone attacks around the same period.
A January 2025 report by the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission said drone attacks accounted for 70 percent of civilian casualties in Kherson.
“The attacks have the apparent purpose of instilling terror in the civilian population in Kherson, part of a widespread attack against that population,” the report said.
HRW said Russia deployed commercial drones made by the Chinese companies, DJI and Autel, and by one Russian entity, Sudoplatov, which has purportedly described itself as a “volunteer organisation”.