Russian drone toys with fruit seller before striking in ‘human safari’ on civilians

A fruit seller barely survived after a Russian drone circled him before tired and exhausted he is struck by a blast.

The Kherson greengrocer was setting up his stall at 6.30am at a farmer’s market in Tsentralnyi.

Suddenly he stops after hearing the drone overhead.

He runs for his life in circles around his van trying to get away before it finally dives in for the kill.

The 52-year-old survived the explosion with only a concussion and shrapnel damage.

He is seen after the blast sitting down with blood streaming down his body. The footage has chilling echoes of ‘human safaris’ in the Bosnian civil war which saw european tourists paying to shoot at civilians during the siege of Sarajevo.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted the footage on X, saying the ‘world must see this’.

He said: ‘Today, many were shocked by yet another video of the drone “safari” Russians are carrying out against civilians in Kherson.

‘A Russian drone deliberately hunted down a man selling vegetables and detonated right next to him.

‘The Russians even admitted to the crime, showing zero regret and openly boasting about tormenting people. The man was wounded in the blast. Every single day, ordinary people in Kherson face these Russian “safaris.”‘

He added: ‘It must see every piece of evidence that Russia has gone mad and that its soldiers take pleasure in killing and abusing civilians. Without pressure on Russia, the dismantling of its capacity for aggression, and real security guarantees, it is simply impossible to imagine the world being able to coexist with this evil.

‘We must remain resolute in defending life. We must act and support life in ways that force Russia to seriously think about peace rather than expanding the range of its drones.’

Ukraine’s foreign ministry also shared the footage.

They said: ‘This is who Russia chooses to target. Not a military position. A civilian at work.

‘In Ukraine’s Kherson, a Russian drone deliberately hunted down an ordinary market vendor. The attack left the 52-year-old man with injuries and a concussion.

‘This is a deliberate campaign of terror against innocent civilians. The world must not accept this as normal. Stronger pressure on Russia is needed right now. These crimes must not go unanswered.’

The strike came after seven Russians were killed, with 17 people taken to hospital, after a drone exploded on a Black Sea resort.

Sunbathers ran for cover as others hid in terror under sun loungers.

The governor of the Krasnodar region Veniamin Kondratyev accused Ukraine of ‘a deliberate strike on civilians’.

Both sides deny targeting civilians deliberately.

But on Sunday afternoon, Russian forces attacked a civilian car with a drone in Kherson’s Dniprovskyi district.

‘A woman, whose is currently being identified, was killed at the scene as a result of an enemy drone strike. Two other people were injured,’ a statement said.

A warehouse facility was hit by drones near Russia’s second-biggest city, St Petersburg, regional governor Alexander Drozdenko said on Telegram on Tuesday.

He did not provide the name of the facility.