How Russian drones target civilians in a small Ukrainian city | DW Documentary

We don't hear bombs or shells or explosions. We hear nightingales singing at night. It’s been six months since Lyubov and Volodymyr Kindrat relocated to a quiet little village in the Cherkasy region in central Ukraine. The first time we heard a thunderstorm: we were so scared! The sound of the thunder rolling And then we heard the wasps. To me they sounded like drones flying. They left the city of Beryslav, in southern Ukraine, after drones attacked their house. Videos shared on Telegram show how Russian drones have ravaged Beryslav and its surrounding settlements since at least the fall of 2023 leaving behind over a hundred civilian casualties. The scale and intensity of these attacks are unprecedented Most of the population have left, and sources say there’s no significant military presence. So why are Russian drones targeting this small city caught on the frontline? Less than a week after Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian forces occupied the southern city of Kherson and the surrounding area, including Beryslav. But in the fall of 2022, Ukraine retook part of the region and regained control of the Western bank of the Dnipro river forcing the Russian military to retreat. Residents who endured the occupation rejoiced in the streets. But the Kindrats remember a Russian soldier who didn’t leave without a warning: We have two pieces of news for you, he said. The good news: we will leave in two days. The bad news: we're going to shell you. And the Russians kept to that promise. We could not go to Beryslav. Due to the constant attacks, police closed the roads to the city. Its population shrank from 11,000 people to about a thousand, and those who remain are largely the elderly or people with disabilities. We’ve been told that people try to go out only after dark, when drones cannot see them. When the drones first appeared, they did not hit the population Some might have sought shelter under trees, but mostly people were not hiding. But then somehow these drones improved, and they acquired military skills, which they trained on the local population. A horrible suspicion: Could Russians really be attacking civilians to train drone pilots? September 2023: This is the aftermath of a Russian drone attack on Beryslav city center. Explosives landed close to a shop at around 9 a.m. Four civilians were injured, all of them between 66 and 74 years old. Over the course of six months, we analyzed reports of drone attacks in the Beryslav district resulting in civilian casualties. Between September 2023 and July 2024, Ukrainian authorities on Telegram reported over a hundred strikes that left nearly 130 civilians injured and 16 dead. The total number of attacks is likely higher, but these figures give an overview of the situation and suggest that Russian soldiers may have used drones indiscriminately and systematically against civilians. Many of the reported casualties were aged 61 or older, making it unlikely that they had engaged in military activities. Could it be that Russian drones were deliberately targeting civilians? It was a cold day: we were carrying coal briquettes. People had been collecting their briquettes and some were helping me carry ours from the garage to the barn. This is what the Kindrats' house in Beryslav used to look like. The river bank seen in the distance is the area where the drone operators were likely positioned when conducting the attack. We were just inside the barn and one guy, a neighbour, was still inside the garage when the first kamikaze drone impacted. It hit a high voltage line and then exploded. We immediately ran out because we were afraid something had happened to the guy, but he was alive. The next day, two more landed. They punched a hole in the garage door, the second one went in and hit the car. I was in the house when the first one hit. And then immediately ran out and saw the second one flying into our garage. Our dogs were so frightened after that. Whenever they heard a drone they would immediately run inside. The car was blown out and bent completely out of shape. They have so many drones. I can’t imagine what resources they must have to just hit some garage. Drones have long played a crucial role in Russia’s war in Ukraine. From large military drones that travel dozens, sometimes hundreds of kilometers, to consumer models: both sides use them to advance their tactics. But the drones that have had the biggest impact aren’t the most expensive or sophisticated ones but rather: cheap amateur drones. This is a First-Person View or "FPV" drone. Originally used by hobby pilots for racing or aerial photography, FPV drones are now everywhere on the frontlines. Equipped with a camera, the drone transmits to the pilot what it sees in real time. Using a screen, goggles or a mobile device, the operator has a clear image of the target. FPVs are often used to observe battlefields from above. But they, too, can be lethal. These Ukrainian soldiers attach explosives that can be either dropped or crashed into a target. One of the biggest advantages of these drones is their cost. FPV drones are relatively cheap to manufacture. A typical FPV drone today costs around $500 to assemble. This is Samuel Bendett, a leading drone expert. There are probably 10s of thousands of FPVs operating in the skies of Ukraine at any given time. In this war, Ukraine initially took the lead in drone warfare, but Russia quickly caught up. This Russian volunteer group proudly posts on Telegram how they manufacture drones and train FPV operators. According to experts, on average, these drones can fly up to 15 kilometers before running out of battery or losing signal. That means they have a reach of about 7.5 kilometers if they drop an explosive and return to their base. We mapped seven drone strikes in Beryslav city that resulted in civilian casualties. We then looked at the opposite bank of the river to narrow down the area where these attacks originated. This involved measuring the maximum distance it would take a drone with explosives to hit a target in Beryslav and return to its operator. Most seem to come from this area where Russians have been since the beginning of the war. In the summer of 2022, I started working here at the warehouse. At first as a loader, like all the others, and later I switched to the car. Yevhen is one of many volunteers working with World Central Kitchen, an international NGO that delivers food to those in areas under conflict. Once a month, he travels to the Beryslav district. Visits used to be more regular, but going there is too dangerous now. Drones have targeted relief workers. The first time I was hunted by a drone was in January 2024. A freight shipper and I had headed out to Beryslav, entered the city, and unloaded. All was calm, everything went well. After we had unloaded and were already back on the route back from Beryslav, we were approaching a checkpoint. As I drove closer to the checkpoint, I noticed that the guys were running towards me and waving. When I lowered the window, I was told that I was being "escorted" by a drone. I passed the first checkpoint without stopping, and they had already alerted the second checkpoint. I don’t know how long it was on my tail. I only calmed down once I was approaching Novovorontsovka further away from Beryslav. It's scay, very scary. Yevhen was fortunate that time, but others weren’t. In February 2024, drones attacked relief workers from a Swiss NGO on their way out of Beryslav. After chasing the convoy, the drones released munitions and killed two French nationals. The NGO said the cars were clearly labelled with “no weapons” markings. This Ukrainian squad practices in a small village north of Beryslav how to repel drones with special electronic anti-drone guns. Countering such attacks is difficult Russians units keep modifying their drones and changing their tactics. Yet this squad aims to hit as many Russian drones as possible. They remain vigilant. as are local security agencies. Valery works with Beryslav’s police department. When a drone strikes, he and his colleagues mobilize to the scene to document everything. When there are cases of FPV drone hits, the first thing we do is help civilians. As they try to help, they also risk becoming a target of a drone attack. There have been many cases with our colleagues During evacuations or while documenting these war crimes, our guys have come under fire, vehicles were damaged, and our colleagues were injured. an assault technique commonly known as "double tapping". After hitting a target, the Russian soldiers wait for assistance to arrive, and later hit a second time to maximize the harm. Oleksander has witnessed such double tap attacks. There was a drone attack on a man, leaving him injured and unable to walk or move. The drones did not let up, so we couldn't drive up to organize help. Both officers suspect drone attacks against civilians are not accidental. It doesn't matter if it's an individual in uniform, whether it's a soldier or a civilian. They are training in Beryslav. I can say this because. because no sane person would annihilate the civilian population. These are new methods and means of warfare. Wayne Jordash is an international lawyer who advises Ukrainian prosecutors. Drone warfare may be relatively new, but just as with any other weapon, the indiscriminate use of drones can amount to a war crime. You’re always going to be following the same line of assessment. Was there an attempt to distinguish between civilian and military targets? What was the harm to civilians which was anticipated? Was there an accident? What was the intent of the drone operator? These are the questions which essentially encompass fundamental rules of international humanitarian law which, if violated in a particularly serious way, will then be classified as a war crime, and drones are no exception to that. Let’s take a closer look at the left bank of the Dnipro river. Russian units rotate in and out of the area. But three specific units have been stationed here since drone attacks picked up They’ve also been seen operating drones targeting Beryslav and the surrounding area. The 10th Special Purpose Brigade is an extremely secretive unit under Russia’s military intelligence. In June 2024 Ukrainian authorities opened an investigation into one of the unit's soldiers for using a drone to target civilians. Apart from this first documented case, not much is known about the brigade's operations. Except that they’ve received drones and that there’s no indication they’ve left the area. The 205th is an infantry brigade that has been operating in the Kakhovka area for a long time. On Telegram, they’ve publicly claimed responsibility for several drone attacks in Beryslav and its surroundings most of them targeting both military and civilian vehicles. They’ve also been seen working closely in several missions with a crew of drone trainers. We collected and geolocated 15 of their attacks they coincided with a surge in reports of civilian casualties in Beryslav. Including this revealing post from one drone operator: There are no civilians here All vehicles are being destroyed to hinder movement and deprive the enemy of mobility. He's not making any assessment as to how he's going to minimise civilian damage, and effectively he's decided that any individual is a legitimate military target. So that comment, plus evidence of the drone being used in the way suggested, creates not just a plausible case, but a very strong case of war crimes. The third unit we looked into is relatively new: BARS-33 is a volunteer battalion that bears the name of Vasily Margelov, a Soviet World War II general. Russia created the BARS reservist units to compensate for military losses and to fight alongside regular forces. And on the south or left bank of the river, two politicians were key in establishing BARS-33: This is Vladimir Saldo, the governor of Russian-occupied Kherson. Konstantin Basyuk is a former Russian intelligence agent acting as Kherson’s senator in the Russian Federation Council. Both men have been subjected to international sanctions. In this photo, Basyuk stood next to the head of the Nova Kakhovka district occupational authority, where BARS-33 is deployed. Basyuk and Saldo have launched numerous recruitment calls Some of them, specifically looking for drone pilots to join and offering volunteers a salary of roughly 2,000 euros. They have even handed out donations to BARS-33, including drones. But why are they doing all of this? It's really about appealing to Putin and appealing to his demands. This is Kateryna Stepanenko, an analyst at the US-based Institute for the Study of War. The Kremlin really relies on these forces to sustain its maximalist goals, which are essentially to capture all of Ukraine. A wolf's head and the number 33 identify this unit. We’ve seen members of the battalion wearing these badges in multiple photos. Unlike regular units, BARS-33 was established as a state legal entity by authorities in occupied Kherson. Company records we reviewed showed its leadership has changed on multiple occasions. Current acting director is Alexander Nedoruban. In late 2023, Russian media referred to him as First Deputy Minister of Culture in occupied Kherson It’s unclear whether he has any military experience. But one thing is clear BARS-33 does not only specialize in using drones in attacks. The unit has also been assigned to test them. So the irregular forces have been almost pioneering some of the new modern military equipment. There's a systematic bottleneck within the Russian Ministry of Defense when it comes to research and development. At the same time as reports of drone attacks on Beryslav increased, Russian politicians said BARS-33 had started testing a new drone in the area. the unit conducting attacks on the city using this new drone. Its name - Veles. One of Russia’s attempts to produce a domestic drone. BARS-33 posted videos of using this drone to hit what it claims are Ukrainian military targets. We geolocated these strikes and confirmed the area under fire is also Beryslav and its surroundings. The company that manufactures Veles is located at this airport in the far east of Russia. It’s called Aero-Hit. Company records reveal that Aero-Hit is owned by a firm belonging to Senator Konstantin Basyuk. But it's not just the papertrail pointing to the Russian politicians in annexed Kherson. Here we can see Saldo and Basyuk visiting the company’s headquarters. Despite being relatively new, the drone got a lot of attention including from Vladimir Putin. In January 2024 the model was formally presented to him. One developer of the Veles drone celebrated the Kremlin’s approval: He also shared a post suggesting that the Russian Ministry of Defense has criteria for approving drones such as accumulating hundreds of hours of flight time, and combat testing on the frontline. It has to fly a certain distance, it has to carry a certain amount of cargo ammunition. It has to perform in a certain way when faced with certain countermeasures including electronic warfare It has to be a solution, Out-of-the-box right away. Publicly there isn’t any official information on such criteria. But according to the current CEO of Aero-Hit, Viktor Yatsenko, BARS-33 has recorded over 400 successful combat deployments of the Veles drone in the Kherson Region and that the volunteer battalion is the company’s ‘target customer’. These drone deployments occurred as attacks on civilians in Beryslav increased dramatically. Both the CEO and Aero-Hit are subject to international sanctions. Confronted with our findings, Aero-Hit said it was a non-military company and did not cooperate with the Ministry of Defense. We are unable to determine exactly who is directly responsible for the drone attacks that have left so many civilian casualties in Beryslav and nearby communities. But we do know that these three units have been operating in the area. And that both the 205th Motorized Rifle Brigade and BARS-33 targeted Beryslav with drones. While the number of civilian casualties increased. We are talking about attacks in which a soldier has a clear view of the target. You have a highly discriminate weapon and therefore you ought to be able to discriminate in a very cogent and convincing way, and therefore the room for accident, the room for incidental damage ought to be significantly less. Lyubov and Volodymyr Kindrat haven’t been back to Beryslav since the attack. But they have no doubt that the Russian drone operators involved knew exactly what they were doing. It’s a game. Yes. Like a computer game, as if they were sitting there and playing. But for real. On living targets.