Newly surfaced footage appears to add to evidence of Russian “human safari” drone attacks targeting civilians in Ukraine.
The video has been circulated on social media by several Ukrainian bloggers and political figures, who say it shows another strike in the northeastern city of Sumy.
It emerged just days after a Russian kamikaze drone described as part of the same “human safari” tactics was seen chasing a Ukrainian fruit seller earlier this week.
The latest clip appears to show Russian FPV drones entering Sumy and pursuing civilians through the city’s streets.
In one sequence, a drone seems to follow a man as he runs around a corner before detonating close to him.
Another drone then appears to strike a second civilian directly as the person tries to find cover.
The footage was condemned by Anton Gerashchenko, a former deputy minister at Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, who wrote on X: “A Russian FPV drone deliberately attacks a civilian person in the street. Russian human safari is spreading. Russia’s war crimes are mounting up.”
The video is among the latest reported examples of Russia’s so-called “human safari” campaign, in which remotely operated drones are allegedly used against civilians as Moscow seeks to spread fear among residents living along Ukraine’s frontline regions.
A Russian ‘human safari’ drone appeared to chase a terrified Ukrainian man
A video filmed in Sumy in northeastern Ukraine appears to show how Russian FPV drones flew into the city and began hunting civilians
The video is one of the latest examples of Russia’s ‘human safari’ campaign
Earlier this week, video footage filmed at a market in Kherson, south Ukraine, showed an FPV pilot relentlessly pursuing the innocent fruit seller before going in for the kill.
The man, 52, is seen running around his van and attempting to hide behind it as the drone circles overhead.
The terrifying high-pitched whirring of the drone destroyed the peace of the outdoor market, which was already being set up with stall covers, boxes of goods and vehicles being unloaded.
After teasing the civilian and pursuing him round his van several times, the drone then honed in and dropped suddenly towards the ground, triggering a large explosion.
Despite Putin’s weapon heading directly for the market seller, Ukrainian authorities confirmed he survived the attack.
He suffered blast injuries, shrapnel wounds and concussion but is expected to recover.
Commentators described it as the latest ‘human safari’ attack by Moscow – a deliberate campaign targeting civilians intended to terrorise Ukraine’s population.
This summer has seen Russia and Ukraine trade relentless strikes, with Kyiv’s forces increasingly focusing on civilian infrastructure including large warehouses.
On Wednesday, Russian attacks on Kyiv and its surrounding region killed 17 people and wounded dozens, President Volodymyr Zelensky said as Ukraine’s depleted air defences failed to stop any of Moscow’s incoming missiles overnight.
The barrage, which lasted about two hours, was the latest in a series of large-scale Russian missile strikes.
Moscow is exploiting Ukraine’s critical shortage of interceptors for the U.S.-made Patriot systems, the sole air defence weapon in its arsenal able to shoot down ballistic missiles.
Image shows smoke billowing out following an explosion after the Russian drone fired a direct hit at a civilian
Zelensky has pleaded with other countries, especially the U.S., to send more of the ammunition made scarcer by the Iran war.
Failing that, he wants to make Patriot ammunition in Ukraine or win permission from Elon Musk to use his Starlink satellite communications system to guide strikes inside Russia that can hit its missile launchers.
It’s unclear how many interceptors Ukraine has left.
Zelensky said after a Russian attack Friday night that air defences shot down only one ballistic missile ‘solely because there are no missiles for the Patriots.’
Supplies of defensive missiles for Ukraine in the first half of this year fell to one-third of the 2025 level, Zelensky said.
‘Ballistic interceptors are what could have saved the lives of those killed today,’ Zelensky said Wednesday on social media.
‘It is very important for our partners to understand that delays in supplying them, or a reluctance to hand over anti-ballistic systems, lead directly to such horrific casualties and destruction.’
It comes amid warnings that Russia may be planning a ‘false flag’ strike on the Baltics using Ukrainian-made drones.
Leaders of Poland and three Baltic states fear that Russia is considering an attack or sabotage against their countries in an attempt to shift the focus of the Ukraine war and to reduce support for Kyiv.
Video footage filmed at a market in Kherson, south Ukraine, showed an FPV drone pilot relentlessly pursuing the innocent food seller before going in for the kill
The man, 52, is seen running around his van and attempting to hide behind it as the drone circles overhead
After chasing the man round the van several times, the drone then dropped suddenly towards the ground as it went in for the kill
Lithuania’s defence minister Robertas Kaunas said on Thursday: ‘We are talking about a false flag operation, using a false Ukrainian drone.
‘One of the goals is for NATO to waver and decrease to Ukraine. I can assure this will not happen.’
A ‘false flag’ is a term for an event or attack which someone other than the actual perpetrator would be blamed for.
The warning follows Lithuania’s president Gitanas Nauseda’s announcement in July over the heightening of security after intelligence believed Russia was planning a targeted attack on critical infrastructure.
Moscow rebutted the claims at the time, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov describing them as ‘scare stories’ to justify an increase in militarisation against Russia.
