In the Ukrainian city of Kherson, a Russian drone was recently seen hunting a 52 year-old market vendor, chasing him and striking him, leaving him injured. The images were widely shared on social media but the grotesque mistreatment of civilians by the Russian forces is commonplace.
That’s especially the case in Kherson, where Russian forces conduct “human safaris” to forcibly depopulate the area.
Just south of the city, in the occupied zone on the far bank of the River Dnipro, Ukrainians in the shattered frontline city of Oleshky face dire humanitarian conditions. Unable to leave because of Russian controls, as many as 2,000 of the former population of 24,000 still remain. The area was also heavily impacted by Russia’s sabotage of the Nova Kakhovka dam in 2023.
Delivery of basic commercial goods has become rare, local medical care greatly lacking operating with generator power, and no safe passage has been organized for those who wish to leave. Inhabitants are suffering “hellish conditions,” according to a July report from Human Rights Watch.
On the Ukrainian-held bank, including Kherson, around 60,000 civilians endure constant Russian strikes.
Kherson was the only regional capital initially captured by the Russians, but following Ukraine’s fall 2022 counteroffensive, which forced the Kremlin into retreat, Kyiv was able to retake the city and a chunk of the region.
Many of those who remain under Russian rule, “have not left because evacuation is extremely dangerous,” American journalist Zarina Zabrisky told the author. She is the only foreign reporter still living in Kherson. “Roads are mined and monitored by drones. It is a drone-and-mine siege.”
On the Russian-held bank, Zabrisky added: “At Russian checkpoints, Ukrainian men risk detention, forced mobilization, or arrest, particularly if they have patriotic tattoos.”
The only way back to Ukraine is through Belarus and Russia. But a valid Ukrainian passport is required for that, or a Russian passport from occupational authorities. That comes with risks of its own; men who obtain them are at risk of conscription into the Russian army. “Others remain because they are elderly, have limited mobility, lack resources, fear losing their homes, or refuse to abandon relatives, pets, and livestock,” said Zabrisky.
Yet living with the Russians is extremely dangerous, with some effectively used as human shields. “Russian forces place troops and equipment near homes, restrict movement, and exploit the fact that Ukrainian forces avoid striking civilians,” she said. “If the human shield was removed, Ukrainians would be able to destroy the Russian positions and kick them out,” Zabrisky added.
Survivors have told Zabrisky that Russian soldiers have run into occupied houses to hide from Ukrainian drones when civilians were inside.
Ukraine fought a long and bloody battle to regain a foothold on the far bank in October 2023, when marines crossed the Dnipro and established a bridgehead around Krynky. The operation came at a heavy cost, with one brigade alone suffering around 700 killed and wounded before Ukrainian forces withdrew in July 2024. Logistics quickly became a bottleneck (although in a future operation, heavy bomber drones may be able to help solve that problem.)
Russia has frequently launched operations from the occupied territories, attempting to take islands in the Dnipro river. “Control over this territory allows the enemy to conduct surveillance, use artillery and unmanned systems on Kherson and nearby settlements, as well as to restrain any actions of Ukrainian forces across the Dnipro,” said Dmytro Pulinets, Commander of 34 Separate Marine Brigade, in a written response.
Russian war bloggers have complained that Ukrainian drone operations against their forces on Dnipro River islands are so effective that some have starved to death. It underlines just how difficult military operations have become in such contested sectors.
“The priority is to establish and protect safe evacuation corridors for those who choose to leave,” Zabrisky said. “International pressure must be increased on Russia to allow independent humanitarian access and ensure the provision of food, medicine, and basic services in occupied areas.” She added that violations need to be documented, sanctions must be imposed on Russian soldiers and authorities caught using civilians as human shields.
The civilians that remain stuck in the occupied territories pose challenges to the Ukrainian soldiers in how they are able to fight. “We are fighting on our own land and we understand perfectly well that our citizens remain in the temporarily occupied territory,” said Pulinets. “That is why every decision is made taking into account the need to protect the lives of civilians as much as possible.”
Should Ukraine’s ongoing drone counter operations lead to successful results, the challenge will still remain around civilians being used as human shields.
Nonetheless, Western policymakers should not allow this practice to be normalized, and Russian soldiers and commanders who engage in this practice must be punished. And every year that the war goes on, the more that these civilians are likely to be forgotten, condemning them to Russian brutality and occupation.
David Kirichenko is a Ukrainian-American freelance journalist who has been covering Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine since 2022, and is an Associate Research Fellow at the Henry Jackson Society. He can be found on X/Twitter @DVKirichenko.
Europe’s Edge is CEPA’s online journal covering critical topics on the foreign policy docket across Europe and North America. All opinions expressed on Europe’s Edge are those of the author alone and may not represent those of the institutions they represent or the Center for European Policy Analysis. CEPA maintains a strict intellectual independence policy across all its projects and publications.
