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Kherson Under Fire: A Family’s Loss Amidst Drone Warfare

On August 15,while‍ United States President Donald trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin were‍ en route ⁢to their Alaska⁢ meeting, 26-year-old Nataliia⁢ Makarenko buried ​her⁣ mother,⁣ Tetiana​ Litvin,⁢ 60, in Kherson, ​southern Ukraine. Tetiana had died two days earlier in an artillery strike.

Almost ⁤a year ago, Nataliia‍ buried her father, Petro, 67.​ A Russian drone targeted the minivan ⁢he was driving ⁣in Kherson, and he died from his injuries. Nataliia was one of dozens of Kherson residents my colleagues and I spoke with last year to document Russian forces’ use of ⁣drones to deliberately attack civilians,a war crime. These attacks were designed to instill terror and constitute potential crimes against humanity.

The Deliberate Targeting ⁤of ‍Civilians

The accounts⁣ gathered by Human​ rights Watch and other organizations paint a disturbing picture of systematic⁢ attacks on civilians in Kherson. ‌ The use ‌of drones, in​ particular, allows for precise targeting and‍ increases the likelihood of causing‍ casualties. This isn’t⁢ simply collateral damage; the evidence suggests a deliberate strategy to terrorize