On 17 November, at the international Crimea Global conference, Truth Hounds presented the key findings of their new study “Killzone: How Russian Drones Are Devastating the River Dnipro’s Right Bank”, which documents Russia’s drone safari against the civilian population of Ukraine’s southern regions.
During a panel discussion on modern methods of warfare, Truth Hounds researcher Vitalii Poberezhnyi spoke about the organisation’s new report, which is based on 39 in-depth interviews with victims and witnesses of drone attacks, three interviews with experts in unmanned aerial vehicle technologies and early-warning systems, as well as an analysis of open-source information and monitoring data.
The study covers a 400-kilometre stretch of the lower Dnipro, where many settlements have retained only 20% to 50% of their pre-war population. The report highlights, among other issues, the practice whereby Russian forces treat areas up to approximately 2.5 km from the riverbank as a “red zone”, where any person or vehicle is considered a legitimate target.
The evidence presented in the report indicates that Russian drone strikes along the Lower Dnipro systematically violate the laws of war and, in certain cases, may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Truth Hounds compiled this report with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation. Its content is the exclusive responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the International Renaissance Foundation.
With financial support from the Czech organization People in Need, as part of the SOS Ukraine initiative. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect their official views.
“Our research shows that Russia’s short-range drones have fundamentally altered the conduct of warfare in its conflict with Ukraine. These systems allow operators to track civilians in real time; however, instead of reducing harm, civilian casualties continue to grow. The patterns we have documented raise urgent questions of accountability and demonstrate that the risks posed by this technology extend far beyond Ukraine,” Oksana Pokalchuk, Co-Executive Director of Truth Hounds.
Watch the full discussion “Black Mirror series we live in. Drone safari and other modern means of war against civilians”.
Truth Hounds compiled this report with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation. Its content is the exclusive responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the International Renaissance Foundation.
With financial support from the Czech organization People in Need, as part of the SOS Ukraine initiative. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect their official views.