‘Russians are training civilians in Kherson’: Deadly drones attacking southern Ukraine russia-ukraine war news

Kherson, Ukraine – In late November, 22-year-old Maria from Ponyativka in southern Ukraine gave birth to a boy.

They named their second child Ivan after his father, who had been dreaming of a son since he joined the army in 2023.

Baby Ivan was the only child born that day in the district maternity hospital of Kherson, a city where more people die than are born and decide to leave rather than stay.

According to the local administration, only 15 children were born in December, while 256 people died and 311 people fled.

As Kherson collapses, its 83,000 residents – down from a population of more than 320,000 before the war – are focusing on how to escape the constant shelling by Russia and what locals have nicknamed it the “human safari.” Is.

Last summer, the Russian army was seen adopting a new strategy.

He started flying dozens of drones over southern Ukraine to chase cars and people like in a video game. According to Ukrainian officials, they have dropped explosives on civilian targets, causing destruction.

Local officials said at least 16 people were killed and 144 were injured in the attacks in November and December.

According to city council estimates, while in June only 5 percent of injuries and deaths were caused by drones and the rest by artillery and missiles, six months later in December 2024, drones were responsible for 60 percent of attacks against civilians.

“Children do not have a normal childhood. My daughter doesn’t go to kindergarten. I can’t even take him for a walk,” Maria said, her eyes fixed on her newborn.

The maternity ward where she gave birth was moved from the fourth floor to the basement after it was hit by Russian missiles on five separate occasions over the two years from December 2022. Russia did not comment on any of these attacks.

Construction work for the renovation of the hospital has started.

Days after Moscow began a full-scale offensive, Kherson was the first major city in Ukraine to fall to Russian forces, but it has since been retaken by Ukrainian troops.

A large and strategic Black Sea port for shipbuilding, pre-war Kherson was a vibrant coastal city rich in culture. In a 2021 study co-funded by the United Nations Development Programme, 80 percent of residents said it was a good place to live, work and raise a family.

But war has changed everything.

The coastal maternity hospital faces Russian troops occupying the opposite river bank. His village is not safe. Amid constant shelling and drone attacks, she moved to a neighboring settlement, where her family found some respite.

This step probably saved his life. His house was destroyed in a drone attack in the summer.

“Sometimes it’s scary, but I’ve got used to it. My five-year-old daughter says to me, ‘Mom, look, there’s a drone buzzing over there.’ Children understand everything,” she said.

Fearing for her safety, Maria requested Al Jazeera withhold her surname and refused to be photographed.

‘The Russians in Kherson don’t just terrorize the population, they train civilians’

Local officials say that on most days, 30 to 60 Russian drones fly over Kherson.

Russia consistently claims it does not intentionally target civilians, which is a war crime under international law, but these denials have been refuted by Ukraine, global rights groups and witnesses.

“The Russians in Kherson do not just terrorize the population, they train civilians. They practice in Kherson and then move to (eastern) Donetsk (region), where warfare is more difficult due to close contact. We have seen many videos showing Russian soldiers hunting people,” said Anton Yefanov, 44, Kherson’s deputy mayor.

“In December and November, drones have been penetrating the city more and more, and the Russians have started to prey on public and social transport,” he told Al Jazeera. The shelling has also increased.

At the time of publication, the Russian Defense Ministry had not responded to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.

The sound of explosions on the streets of Kherson continues to echo in the air with frightening frequency.

The city feels like a ghost town with islands of life. Concrete bus stops have been built to provide additional shelter to passengers, but they do not guarantee survival in the event of shelling. Residents are often advised to stay at home.

Only a few cars drive on the empty streets and very few pedestrians dare to walk. Of those who chose to remain, most are elderly, unwilling, or unable to move to safer parts of Ukraine.

Some professionals have returned to Kherson because their livelihoods are threatened by being internally displaced.

Maria and her family stayed in Odessa for several months, but prices were high and her salary was low so she moved back home.

‘It was following me. In such situations you are definitely scared’

Alexander Dorofeyev, a native of Kherson, returned from Poland “to make himself useful” when the war began.

He works with the Polish Center for International Aid, which provides humanitarian aid to immobilized and disabled people.

But helping the needy is fraught with risk.

In November, when he was checking the renovation work of an outpatient clinic sponsored by his NGO, he noticed a drone buzzing above his car.

“It was following me. In such a situation, undoubtedly you are afraid. To be faster than the drone you have to increase the speed, but this can happen only if you are driving on a straight road, highway. Drones can fly up to 130 kilometers (80 miles) per hour,” he said.

“They appear out of nowhere, they see you and if they’re up there, you can’t really hear them before they drop the bomb. There is no way to avoid them in the city.”

In early January, a drone targeted a minibus that his colleague was driving. The car broke into pieces. The man is still battling for life and death in the hospital.

Deputy Mayor Yefanov said, “From an economic point of view, Kherson is a half-built city, but from a humanitarian point of view, there are still people here.” “Someone has to help them, fix their water supply, heat, help the disabled. “What I fear most is that I won’t be able to complete my work here.”

Some observers fear that the Kherson ordeal is unlikely to end soon, even if Ukrainians remain enthusiastic about the idea of ​​peace talks.

In October 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the annexation of four occupied regions – the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk “People’s Republics”, Kherson and Zaporizhia – into Russia.

A month later, Ukraine liberated Kherson. Capturing it remains Russia’s goal, but is unlikely, as both armies are locked in a positional battle on opposite banks of the Dnieper River.

“They want to capture Kherson but that is unrealistic at the moment. Volodymyr Molchanov, an expert at the local Black Sea Center for Political and Social Research in Odessa, said Ukrainian forces are hiding their locations from enemy drones, so Russians are searching for civilians.

“This is an attempt to intimidate the population and force people to leave so that it will be easier for Russia to take over the territory and maintain its corridor to Crimea.”