Research/ Russian drone hunting of civilians in Ukraine

2024-08-29 08:18:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The small Ukrainian town of Berislav has been hit for months by an unprecedented wave of Russian drone attacks. According to DW research, these attacks have often targeted civilians.

Volodymyr Kindrat and his wife, Ljubova, will never forget that menacing buzz of drones on February 7 of this year. They were just getting used to it when two drones packed with explosives suddenly hit their house.

"I saw how the drones hit the garage," Volodymyr Kindrat says. The garage door and the family car were badly damaged in the attack. "It was as if the soldiers were playing some computer game," Ljubova described the shocking attack. "But in real life," interjects Volodymyr. "And on living people," adds the wife.

Drone attacks on civilians

After this shock, the Kindrat family, together with their grown daughter, left Berislav, their hometown in southern Ukraine. From September 2023 to July 2024, Berislav was attacked by over 120 Russian drone strikes. In these attacks, 16 people were killed and over 130 others were injured - all civilians, according to reports.

DW's research team has been analyzing a series of reports and data from open sources on drone attacks for several months. He was also helped by two non-governmental organizations: the "Eyes on Russia" project of the "Centre for Information Resilience" and the Ukrainian archive "Mnemonic".

In the city, the team could not conduct research. Due to the constant threat, the Ukrainian police have blocked the entrance to the city. However, data analysis and interviews with witnesses and experts reinforce the suspicion that Russian soldiers have systematically used drones against civilians.

Berislav is located on the northern bank of the Dnieper River, near the city of Kherson. Shortly after the major invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian troops occupied the city of Kherson and the surrounding area. In the fall of 2022, the Ukrainian army regained control of this area. Russian troops retreated to the other side of the river.

Since then, Russian forces stationed on the other side of the river have been intensively bombarding Berislav with artillery, remote-controlled bombs and drones. Most of the city has been destroyed and of the 11,000 former inhabitants, now almost only the elderly remain.

The most used drones are of the FPV (First Person View) type loaded with explosives. This type of drone was originally used only by amateur pilots and is equipped with a camera.

Në vitin 2023 është rritur ndjeshëm numri i dronëve të tillë të përdorur në front. "Mendohet të ketë mbi dhjetëra mijëra dronë të tipit FPV që veprojnë në qiellin e Ukrainës," shpjegon Samuel Bendett, anëtar i programit të studimeve mbi Rusinë në Center for Naval Analyses, një institut kërkimor amerikan.

Piloti i dronit ose mund ta hedhë eksplozivin, ose ta drejtojë dronin me gjithë ngarkesën e tij drejt një caku, ku ai shpërthen.

Ndjekur nga dronët

Edhe Jevheni ka qenë në shënjestër të një droni rus. Ai nuk dëshiron ta publikojë mbiemrin e tij. Ndodhi në janar, kur punonjësi i organizatës humanitare World Central Kitchen solli ushqime në Berislav. Gjatë kthimit nga qyteti, makina e tij u ndoq nga një dron. "Nuk e di sa gjatë më ndoqi droni," tregon ai për DW, shumë i lehtësuar që arriti të shpëtojë. "Kisha shumë frikë."

Një aksion tjetër i ngjashëm përfundoi me viktima. Edhe ata "u ndoqën nga dronët," siç raportoi më vonë njëri nga të mbijetuarit. Automjetet e tyre, të cilat ishin të shënuara si konvojë ndihmash, u sulmuan. Disa dëshmitarë i thanë DW se bëheshin goditje të dyfishta, të ashtuquajtura "double taps", ku pas goditjeve të para, viheshin në shënjestër personat që përpiqeshin të shpëtonin viktimat.

Sulmet nga bregu tjetër i Dnjeprit

Nuk është e mundur të përcaktohet me siguri se kush është përgjegjës për sulmet me dronë. Megjithatë, bazuar në distancën mesatare të fluturimit dhe trajektoren e mundshme të dronëve, DW arriti të lokalizojë zonat e mundshme nga ku janë nisur sulmet: Ato janë zonat përreth qyteteve Kakhovka dhe Nova Kakhovka, të cilat ndodhen përballë Berislavit në anën tjetër të Dnjeprit.

Aty janë të stacionuara disa njësi ruse që përdorin dronë. Ndër to janë Brigada e 10-të Speciale, Brigada e 205-të e Këmbësorisë dhe Batalioni Vullnetar BARS-33, i emërtuar sipas heroit sovjetik të Luftës së Dytë Botërore, Vasili Margelov.

Ka shumë pak të dhëna të hapura rreth operacioneve të Brigadës së 10-të Speciale, e cila i përket shërbimit të inteligjencës ushtarake ruse, GRU. Por janë bërë të njohura disa detaje nga një sulm me dron: Prokuroria në Kherson nisi hetimet në qershorin e kaluar kundër një ushtari të kësaj brigade, pasi kishte regjistruar një bisedë me eprorin e tij. Ai akuzohet për sulm të qëllimshëm me dron ndaj dy civilëve në Berislav, në maj 2023.

Brigada e 205-të e Këmbësorisë operon prej kohësh në rajonin e Kakhovkës. Në Telegram, ajo ka pranuar hapur disa sulme me dron në Berislav, shumica e të cilave janë drejtuar ndaj automjeteve. Këto automjete "janë të gjitha të shkatërruara," ka shkruar një pilot droni në kanalin e Telegramit. Ai pretendon se në zonë nuk ka civilë. Ky koment e dëmton vetë pilotin, thotë juristi Wayne Jordash. Ushtari nuk përpiqet të shmangë viktimat civile. De facto, "ai vendos që çdo individ është një objektiv legjitim ushtarak."

The BARS-33 Volunteer Battalion has been operating in the Kakhovka and Nova Kakhovka region since the spring of 2023. The unit appears to be focused especially on drone warfare. In recruitment notices, it mainly seeks drone pilots.

The battalion was founded on the initiative of Vladimir Saldo, the governor of the Russian occupation authorities in the Kherson region. In October 2023, he announced that BARS-33 had tested a new drone called "Weles".

Videos have been published on Telegram showing drone attacks carried out by BARS-33 in the Berislav region, including with the new "Weles" drone.

Sanctions against the drone manufacturer

The "Weles" drone is manufactured by the company Aero-Hit in the city of Khabarovsk, in eastern Russia. The company is closely associated with Russian politician Konstantin Basyuk, a strong supporter of the BARS-33 Volunteer Battalion. Basyuk represents the Kherson region, illegally annexed by Ukraine, at the Russian Federation Council in Moscow and regularly promotes the Volunteer Battalion. Both Saldo and Basjuk are under Western sanctions.

In June, the US Treasury Department also imposed sanctions on the company Aero-Hit, on the grounds that "Weles drones were used by Russian forces stationed in Kherson against Ukrainian targets."

Those sanctions will not affect production, company director Viktor Yatsenko said in an interview, boasting of "400 successful combat strikes" of the new drone. The "main consumer" is the BARS-33rd Volunteer Battalion. Confronted with the results of this investigation, Aero-Hit stated that it is "a non-military company and does not cooperate with the Ministry of Defense."

No response
It is not possible to determine with certainty who ordered and carried out the drone attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Berislav and surrounding areas. But, according to our research, it is very likely that the three mentioned units are responsible for the attacks.

DW has requested comments from Russia's Ministry of Defense, politicians Vladimir Saldo and Konstantin Basyuk, the BARS-33 Volunteer Battalion and the administrators of two linked Telegram channels on the findings of this research. None of them have responded. /DW