Ukraine War: Russian “human safaris” – Putin’s perfidious technique in opposition to civilians | EUROtoday

Last yr, a peace answer for Ukraine seemed to be nearer than ever for the reason that conflict started 4 years in the past. However, parallel to the diplomatic talks, the killing on behalf of Vladimir Putin continued uninterrupted – and never simply on the entrance. For Ukrainian civilians, 2025 was the second deadliest yr for the reason that main invasion started on February 24, 2022. No area of the nation was spared from Russian assaults.

Negotiations on a peace answer in Ukraine have been dragging on for a yr now. Russian and American delegations met for the primary time in Saudi Arabia in February 2025. This was adopted by numerous rounds of talks, Donald Trump’s inconsequential threats to Putin and a Russian-American summit in Alaska that remained inconclusive. The two sides with Ukrainian participation final met final week in Geneva. There have been no substantial outcomes.

What some observers noticed as a diplomatic offensive and progress did not cease the preventing for a single day. Russia even elevated air strikes on Ukraine final yr. According to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU), round 12,000 civilians have been injured and a couple of,514 died. The variety of civilians injured and killed was 31 p.c increased than in 2024 and 70 p.c increased than in 2023.

The members of the open supply analysis collective Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT) have additionally compiled publicly accessible knowledge on victims – on each side of the entrance. They give you even increased numbers: not less than 2,919 civilians have been killed and 17,775 injured in Ukraine and Russia.

97 p.c of all accidents and deaths occurred in territory managed by Ukraine and might subsequently be attributed to Russian assaults. Three p.c of the circumstances occurred in Russian-occupied Ukrainian areas and the Russian border areas below worldwide legislation, comparable to Belgorod. Deeper within the Russian inside, there have been nearly no civilian casualties from Ukrainian drone strikes.

While the variety of deaths and accidents within the Russian-occupied areas and in areas close to the border on Russian territory fell by six p.c in comparison with 2024, it rose by 35 p.c within the areas managed by Ukraine.

The authors of the CIT report write: “In our assessment, the findings indicate at least a systematic disregard for international humanitarian law by Russian forces and, in a number of cases, intentional war crimes.”

Older individuals in frontline areas are significantly affected

Even distant Ukrainian areas weren’t spared in 2025. As lately as 2024, the conflict within the western areas of Rivne, Chernivtsi and Transcarpathia on the border with Hungary and Slovakia had not brought about any deaths or accidents. But in keeping with the CIT analysis, that has now modified. Even in mountainous and sparsely populated Zakarpattia, Russian assaults injured 26 individuals.

The CIT analysis summarizes the brutality of the conflict in sober numbers. Russia’s most high-profile assaults with dozens of drones and missiles occurred within the capital Kiev – 184 individuals died there final yr and 1,151 have been injured. Nationwide, nevertheless, many of the victims have been documented in areas near the entrance, as a UN analysis reveals. Accordingly, 63 p.c of all accidents and deaths occurred there, comparable to within the Kherson area.

According to CIT, greater than 2,900 individuals have been injured and 359 killed because of huge Russian artillery assaults. Infamous “human safaris,” or focused assaults by Russian FPV drones on Ukrainian civilians, additionally contributed to those numbers.

According to the UN, assaults on civilians utilizing such short-range drones, which are literally meant for enemy troopers and autos, have elevated by round 120 p.c. The Donetsk area was hit hardest – with 756 useless and a couple of,339 injured.

In the embattled japanese area, hundreds of principally older civilians are staying behind close to the entrance, partly as a result of they don’t wish to go away their properties and livestock behind. According to UN figures, individuals over 60 – generally Ukraine’s least cellular inhabitants – make up nearly half of the civilians killed in frontline areas.

The variety of victims damaged down by weapon class can also be clear. Russian rockets and cruise missiles trigger the best injury and the very best variety of victims per assault – comparable to on the evening of November 18th to nineteenth, 2025 in Ternopil, western Ukraine. Two homes have been destroyed in an assault with Ch-101 cruise missiles, 38 individuals have been killed and 99 have been injured.

However, many of the victims general are brought on by Russian drone assaults. According to the CIT analysis, nearly 41 p.c or 8,560 circumstances with deaths and accidents may be attributed to this. Followed at a big distance by rocket, cruise missile and bomb assaults.

And there isn’t any finish in sight: Russia is considerably increasing its drone manufacturing – each for FPV drones, that are more and more getting used in opposition to civilians in areas near the entrance, and for long-range disposable drones like Geran. In January 2026, Russia used nearly 3,000 drones and decoys – i.e. flying objects designed to mislead radar methods and missiles – in opposition to Ukraine. Attacks involving a number of hundred drones per day have been documented.

As a rule, the variety of drones used every single day is between 130 and 200. These are very prone to hit civilians. For FPV drones, manufacturing is estimated at not less than 50,000 models monthly.

The outlook is bleak as a result of, regardless of the negotiations, there are indicators of additional escalation. The variety of civilian casualties is prone to proceed to rise this yr.

Pavel Lokshin is a Russia correspondent. He has been reporting on Russia, Ukraine and the post-Soviet area on behalf of WELT since 2017.