Drone attacks on Ukrainian civilians are war crimes, says report

A UN rights commission has concluded that Russia's drone attacks on civilians in southeastern Ukraine constitute crimes against humanity and war crimes.

- Shaun Walker

The commission's report says Russian forces, operating under a centralised command, have systematically used drones to "intentionally target civilians and civilian objects and cause harm and destruction".

The report was compiled by the UN's independent international commission of inquiry on Ukraine, which reports back to the UN.

The latest report looked at three regions of Ukraine in particular - Kherson, Mykolaiv and Dnipro-petrovsk - which are close to the frontline and where drone attacks have increased over the past year.

In this area the frontline runs along the Dnipro River, and the report's authors found that Russian drones had relentlessly targeted civilians and their houses, as well as gathering points, humanitarian distribution points and objects of critical infrastructure that service civilians.

Often, the attacks targeted the same locations repeatedly. Drone operators have also targeted ambulance crews and fire brigades.