A UKRAINIAN grocer who was “hunted” by a Russian suicide drone has recounted the horror attack.
Yuriy, 52, said he was laying out vegetables for sale when he heard the terrifying hum of the approaching UAV.
Vegetable seller Yuriy recounts the horror attack from his hospital bed in Ukraine Credit: Telegram/ Oleksandr Prokudin
The 52-year-old said he was laying out vegetables for sale when he heard the terrifying hum Credit: Ukrainian Police
“We couldn’t see it – it came flying out from somewhere behind the market, where the bushes are, and flew so low”, he said in a video shared on Telegram.
But when his wife ran away, the killing machine turned to him.
Sign up for The Jattvibe newsletter
Thank you!
In a desperate bid to save himself, he gestured to his vegetables to signal to the drone operator he was not a threat.
“I pointed it out to him – look, it’s just vegetables. But then it started coming at me, so I started to run away,” Yuriy said.
WAR AT THE DOOR
War at Vlad’s doorstep as Ukraine blitz puts tyrant’s palaces in crosshairs
DEADLY BLITZ
Moment drone kills beachgoers near Putin’s palace amid Ukraine’s air onslaught
Yuriy tries to run away but the UAV turns to chase him Credit: Ukrainian Police
The drone struck the grocers car, exploding into a huge plume of smoke Credit: Instagram
“I didn’t take any pictures of it. Nothing. I actually had garlic in my hands and I was showing it to him”, he added.
The grocer turned to run away but said the drone “came out from under the umbrella” to hunt him down.
At first the UAV fired at his car, with the force of the strike ripping metal sheets back across the bonnet.
Yuriy, who was right next to the vehicle at the time, was thrown to the ground by the impact.
Sheets of metal were torn back from the car by the strike Credit: Telegram/ Oleksandr Prokudin
Yuriy suffered cuts to his back and arm as well as deep bruising across his body Credit: Telegram/ Oleksandr Prokudin
Shrapnel sliced through his skin across his torso and arms.
Yuriy also suffered an injury to his ear and bruises across his body from the blast.
The horror attack was caught on camera in the bloodbath Ukrainian city of Kherson.
Police said the clip “makes your blood run cold”.
Chilling footage shows Yuriy, from neighbouring Mikolaiv, clasping his hands in prayer and running around his stall as he is chased by the Russian quadcopter.
Police published the clip with the warning: “This is how the Russians fight. They are purposefully hunting civilians.”
Putin’s invading forces have been repeatedly accused of launching “human safaris” to murder civilians in Kherson.
The attack comes a week after a volunteer distributing aid was targeted inside his van by a Russian drone.
A firefighter tackles a blaze in a postal terminal after a Russian drone struck the facility in Kharkiv Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
Kremlin troops captured the provincial capital Kharkiv in the first days of the full- scale invasion Credit: AFP
Hope for Ukraine, the charity that he was working with, said: “Oleksandr was targeted and killed by a Russian drone while delivering vital humanitarian aid to frontline communities.
“He was always drawn to where he was needed most, risking everything to save others. His bravery will forever inspire us.”
Kremlin troops captured the provincial capital Kharkiv in the first days of the full- scale invasion but they were forced to make a humiliating retreat in October 2022.
But since they have hammered the city with rockets, artillery and drone attacks – as it is only separated from Russian-controlled territory by a 1,000ft wide river.
Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly raised the alarm over escalating drone attacks, saying just weeks ago: “The situation is especially difficult in Kherson, where the Russians are conducting a safari against people.
“Defences must be significantly strengthened with more interceptors, more electronic jamming systems, and more gun crews operating in the city.”
