(KHERSON, UKRAINE) – Russian forces are conducting a deliberate campaign of so-called “civilian drone safaris,” using first-person view (FPV) drones to hunt non-combatants on the streets of southern Ukrainian cities, a practice that has drawn renewed international condemnation after a narrowly survived attack on a vegetable seller.
Footage verified last week revealed a Russian drone operator targeting a 52-year-old Ukrainian man setting up his roadside stall. The victim was unloading boxes of fruit and vegetables from his vehicle, a common sight in the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions, when the drone struck. The man survived by running in circles around his car, a scene one analyst compared to the mass slaughter of bison from trains in the 19th-century United States. Open-source investigator Ryan Macbeth independently geolocated the attack site to a roundabout in southern Ukraine. The victim described his ordeal: “We just set up the umbrella and I was taking the boxes out. My wife was there too… the drone started flying right at me so I started running and the drone hit the car.” His vehicle, reportedly one of his few possessions, was destroyed.
In response to the international attention, Russian military bloggers attempted to justify the strike by alleging the vehicle was transporting “dual-use cargo” and that the driver was in contact with Ukrainian forces. They referred to the survivor as “the pig.” These civilian hunting operations have been documented almost daily for years, though this particular incident has broken through to Western audiences.
The atrocity coincides with deepening economic dysfunction inside Russia. With elections for the State Duma scheduled for 20 September, street interviews reveal mounting apathy and distrust. When asked if they would vote for the ruling United Russia party, one citizen replied, “We get ripped off at every turn,” while another stated, “I don’t trust the government.” Political analysts note that while Russians were once content to trade political participation for rising living standards, that compact has disintegrated as the war’s costs have reached the domestic population.
The pressure on ordinary Russians is measurable. A British expatriate in Moscow documented a box of Kellogg’s Coco Pops cereal retailing for 1,898 roubles (approximately £16.40 GBP, $20.90 USD, €19.40 EUR), roughly seven times the cost in England. While pensioners avoid such premium goods, staple food prices have also surged by 100 to 300 percent, according to local reports.
Russia’s agricultural sector is in acute distress. Every third farmer reportedly stands on the brink of bankruptcy as diesel prices have climbed by 200 to 300 percent, while grain purchase prices have collapsed. In the Rostov region, winter wheat sold for 16.17 roubles per kilogram, with some farmers receiving as little as 12.5 roubles. A farmer from Cherapanova reported that if diesel hits 100 roubles per litre, it becomes mathematically illogical to even start the combine harvesters. “The cost of growing harvest crops is now three times higher than their market price,” one agricultural source stated, adding that it is now cheaper to dump grain on the ground than to harvest it.
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s visit to Krasnoyarsk on 4 August exposed the Potemkin nature of official economic management. During his brief presence, fuel prices were temporarily slashed by roughly 30 percent, only to revert immediately upon his departure. Military analyst Maxim Kleimov stated on air, “Vladimir Putin a strong leader? No, he is not. He is a weak leader… the king’s entourage is dancing around him.” Kleimov also criticised the appointment of Colonel General Chaiko, linked to failed campaigns in Syria and near Kyiv, to head the aerospace forces, noting that “loyalty is rewarded, honesty is punished in Putin’s system.”
Russian state budget data for 2026 show that 53.8 percent of all government spending is now consumed by national defence, security, and law enforcement, with an additional 9.2 percent servicing public debt. This leaves 63 percent of total expenditure allocated to the security apparatus and its financing, with correspondingly little for the population funding it. The liquid portion of Russia’s sovereign wealth reserves has been largely depleted, forcing the Kremlin into heavy borrowing to sustain its war footing.
The video evidence of the drone attack in southern Ukraine was originally disseminated by open-source channels and subsequently verified by independent analysts.
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