The first, in late July, targeted a parked police car in central Kherson just as Ustenko walked past, throwing him to the ground. The second, in mid-August, hit a drinking water tanker as he queued for supplies, killing the driver. Ustenko was concussed, and came round to see a man lying in a pool of blood.
The third time, in late September, he heard the drone buzzing above and sprinted for shelter under the branches of a cherry tree. He hoped its leaves would hide him but the grenade tumbled through the canopy and landed barely a metre away.
The explosion ripped his left index finger apart. He is left-handed, so at 51 he is learning to write again with his other hand. When he speaks, his sentences sometimes peter out, the impact of multiple concussions, and he struggles to stand because of repeated blast injuries to his back.
Two years into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, civilians living in the frontline city of Kherson are grappling with the new threat from small civilian drones adapted to carry explosives.
On social media, Russian soldiers openly boast that their target is anyone or anything that moves. Since the drones began swarming the city in July, there have been thousands of attacks each month, killing 24 civilians and injuring hundreds more.
"The hunt has started," urged one Telegram post above a satellite image of an ordinary van. "Any black minivan must be destroyed no matter where they are going." They have dropped grenades on buses and people waiting at bus stops, civilians on bikes and queueing for humanitarian aid, or, like Ustenko, just walking home with shopping.
This story is from the October 25, 2024 edition of The Guardian Weekly.
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This story is from the October 25, 2024 edition of The Guardian Weekly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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