UN commission says Russian drone strikes in Kherson amount to crimes against humanity

GENEVA

Russian armed forces have committed crimes against humanity through systematic drone attacks on civilians in Ukraine’s Kherson Province, according to a new report by the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine.

The commission found that since July 2024, Russian forces have “recurrently killed and injured civilians” in over 16 localities along the right bank of the Dnipro River, in what it described as a deliberate, coordinated campaign.

The report concluded that "the perpetrators intended to carry out these acts," and characterized the killings as "crimes against humanity."

Drone strikes followed a regular pattern, with operators using live video feeds to target civilians, including people walking, driving, or riding mopeds, it said. According to official sources, nearly 150 civilians have been killed and hundreds more wounded - victims include women, and children.

The commission also found that ambulances, which are protected under international law, were targeted. In the report, a man from Stanislav said that in November 2024, while receiving first aid after a drone strike, "a drone dropped two explosives on the ambulance."

The report also documented psychological trauma, widespread fear, and forced displacement.

"They are simply chasing and hunting civilians who are on their way to work or walking their dogs," said a senior health worker from Kherson.

"They drop explosives from drones like it is a video game."

The commission examined over 300 videos and 600 Telegram posts, many showing drone strikes or warning civilians to leave. It concluded that this was part of a "coordinated state policy" likely aimed at "forcibly transferring the population" - a potential second crime against humanity.