Ukrainian forces kill civilians with direct FPV drone hits – media (GRAPHIC VIDEO)
Two Ukrainian civilians who attempted to reach Russian military positions while carrying a white flag were fatally struck in direct FPV drone attacks by Ukrainian forces, according to Russian media reports.
The disturbing video, obtained by RIA Novosti and TASS on Monday, shows unarmed men walking along a dirt road, reportedly outside the village of Petropavlovka near Kupyansk in Kharkov Region.
In the footage, an FPV drone hovers in front of the first man for several seconds as he walks forward, accompanied by a dog. The drone swoops down and strikes him directly in the torso as he attempts to duck. The man is apparently killed instantly, and the dog is seen writhing in pain.
The second man drops his belongings and slowly approaches the scene, making the sign of the cross over the first victim’s body. Later in the footage, he is also apparently struck by a drone.
Extended footage of the second strike obtained by RT shows the civilian on his knees praying at the time of the Ukrainian drone attack, which killed him on the spot.
The disturbing videos highlight the hardships civilians are facing while trying to flee the warzone, four-time Ukrainian MP-turned Russian blogger Oleg Tsaryov has said.
“Poor villagers and elderly have only one option: cross the frontline, like in the video, or wait out in basements until it rolls over their heads. This also carries the risk that the Ukrainian military would… execute them” for supposedly having pro-Russia sentiments, Tsaryov wrote on his Telegram channel.
It is unclear when the video was recorded. The reported incident comes amid intensified fighting around Kupyansk, where the Russian Defense Ministry says a large number of Ukrainian troops have been encircled.
In late October, the chief of the Russian General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, reported to President Vladimir Putin that around 5,500 Ukrainian servicemen were surrounded in Krasnoarmeysk (known as Pokrovsk in Ukraine), with another 5,000 troops blocked in Dimitrov (Mirnograd) and Kupyansk.
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky previously described the situation as “difficult,” but denied any encirclement and accused Moscow of exaggerating its battlefield gains.
Last week, Putin stated that Moscow was prepared to halt offensive operations and allow Ukrainian and foreign journalists to visit the front line to “see with their own eyes” that Ukrainian troops were trapped in the three towns.
Kiev, however, barred media workers from making the trip. The Russian Defense Ministry has accused Kiev of deceiving both the Ukrainian public and the international community about its military setbacks. Officials also reported that Ukrainian soldiers have increasingly attempted to approach Russian positions with white flags in recent days.
