Yaroslav Pavlivskiy waved his hands as he sprang from his car, pleading for mercy with the operator of a Russian drone circling overhead as he drove home from a market in the southern city of Kherson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The operator flicked a switch to release a grenade, which exploded and tore into the legs of the 69-year-old pensioner. A passerby used a belt as a tourniquet to stop him from losing too much blood, saving his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the hospital the next day, the doctor showed Pavlivskiy a Russian video of the incident, which was set to techno music and carried a caption: \u201cA drone operator spotted another \u2018civilian.\u2019 After reconnaissance, the target was eliminated.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russian drone operators have turned daily life in Kherson into a terrifying gauntlet. A year ago, from the other side of the Dnipro River, they began sending drones, in addition to using bombs and artillery, to take potshots at civilians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now the attacks have intensified to such an extent that Ukrainian authorities, civilians and human-rights groups say it has become a systematic effort to keep people off the city\u2019s streets under threat of execution from the skies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p> \u201cThere will be no more mercy.\u201d
\u201cNo one deserves pity. Spare me your whining.\u201d
Those are captions to videos of Russian drone operators attacking civilians in Kherson city and oblast.
Living in Kherson means risking execution from the sky.https:\/\/t.co\/Otunmnekn8<\/a> (read free)<\/p>— Jane Lytvynenko (@JaneLytv) October 9, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote>