The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine published a report May 28 declaring Russian drone attacks on Ukrainian civilians in Kherson oblast to be war crimes and crimes against humanity. The commission found that roughly 150 Ukrainian civilians have been killed over the past year as a result of the systematic Russian drone attacks:

Starting from July 2024, Russian armed forces systematically attacked civilians with drones in Kherson city and other localities on the Ukrainian-controlled right bank of Dnipro River… They targeted civilian persons, in various circumstances… They also targeted ambulances. These attacks have resulted in the death and injury of men, women, and children, mostly men, and have also led to psychological trauma and fear.

In addition to direct casualties from the attacks, the report cites cases of civilian deaths due to the inability of ambulances to reach them following drone strikes. Ambulances are protected under the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Person in Time of War, and video evidence supports the claim that Russian forces have targeted ambulances—both while assisting injured civilians, and while parked outside hospitals.

The report drew from information gathered from over 300 videos and 600 text posts from Russian-language media on Telegram, as well as 90 interviews with Kherson residents. It claims that in most cases, attacks were orchestrated using modified civilian drones manufactured by Da-Jiang Innovations—a leading Chinese drone manufacturer.

The report emphasizes how Kherson civilians live in fear, stating that residents avoid going outside, wait until it is cloudy to leave their houses, and hide from drones under trees when taken unawares. One video shows a man performing the sign of the cross during a drone spotting.

The repeated attacks have also severely damaged regional infrastructure. Videos reveal burning residential buildings, toppled apartment blocs, damaged supermarkets, destroyed hospitals, demolished transportation infrastructure, and many other images of the conflict.

The report uses posts from Russian Telegram channels as evidence of intentional civilian targeting. One cited post states that "civilians moving within the red zone do so at their own risk, by definition, any movement is a target." Another video post shows a Russian drone dropping explosives on a civilian, with the caption "Target hit."

Many posts linked to Russian forces include a video of the specific drone attack with a pop song in the background and a threatening caption, most common of which reads: "Any movement of auto transport, will be considered a legal target. All objects of critical infrastructure are a legal target." Posts brag of knowingly targeting cars, stating that "any car is a potential target and must be destroyed," and some posts claim that busses, markets, and stores are all targets.

Several posts justify the drone action by claiming that there is no way that civilians could be in the target zones. But many posts claim to target critical infrastructure as a goal; in some videos, the drones can be seen dropping explosives next to fleeing residents. Some posts make fun of running civilians calling them "athletes," suggesting that "morning runs" are healthy, and saying that "worst case scenario, [Ukrainian civilians] would be a fertilizer for Russian soil."

The UN Human Rights Council established the Independent International Commission of Inquiry in 2022 to investigate human rights violations and other crimes related to the Russian Federation's aggression against Ukraine. The Commission's mandate was most recently extended on April 4.

From JURIST, May 29. Used with permission.

See our last report on war crimes accusations against Russia.