A Russian ‘human safari’ drone appeared to chase a terrified Ukrainian man, a newly surfaced video shows. 

A video filmed in Sumy in northeastern Ukraine appears to show how Russian FPV drones flew into the city and began hunting civilians. 

In the footage, one drone deliberately pursues a man around a corner before exploding near him. 

Meanwhile, a second drone scores a direct hit on a second civilian, who could be seen trying to take cover. 

The scenes were condemned by former deputy minister at the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs, Anton Gerashchenko, who said in an X post: ‘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 one of the latest examples of Russia’s ‘human safari’ campaign, which involves the deployment of remotely operated drones against civilians in an attempt by Moscow to terrify residents living on Ukraine’s frontlines.

It comes after a Russian human safari kamikaze drone was used to chase a Ukrainian civilian – who miraculously cheated death.

Video footage filmed at a market in Kherson, south Ukraine, on Tuesday morning showed the FPV pilot relentlessly pursuing the innocent food seller before going in for the kill.

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

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.

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.