Putin targets Ukrainian civilians in barbaric ‘safari’ attacks as Trump turns blind eye
Vladimir Putin is targeting Ukrainian civilians in a surge of barbaric attacks across the country despite Donald Trump claiming that Russia is acting “fine” in the war.
New figures released by the UN this week show the number of Ukrainian civilian casualties in September rose by 85 per cent compared with the year before.
First-person drones, long-range glide bombs, ballistic rockets and new jet-powered Shahed cruise missiles are being used in the attacks as winter closes in. No one is off limits. Children, babies, mothers in the park, elderly fruit vendors.
From Kherson to Kharkiv, Kyiv to Kramatorsk, “hunting drone safaris” picking off ordinary people are taking the war far beyond the front lines.
Of the 328 people killed and 2,105 injured last month, 53 per cent of casualties were caused by missiles and long-range drones while 23 per cent were caused by short-range drones.
This data reveals the lie of President Trump’s recent assertion that Russia is acting “fine” in Ukraine.
It also flies in the face of his special envoy Steve Witkoff’s claim that Vladimir Putin is a “humanitarian” in this meat-grinding conflict, which has now lasted longer than the First World War.
The UN figures show a 32 per cent increase in the number of civilian deaths and 65 per cent rise in injuries from January to September 2026, compared to the same time frame last year.
The murder and maiming of ordinary people in the deeply personal “hunting drone” killings was once confined to frontline cities such as Kherson, where Russian pilots use headsets to guide small airborne weapons onto women, the elderly and anyone caught in the open.
Ukraine’s second city, Kharkiv, is now fair game. The towns of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, known as fortress cities as they are Ukrainian redoubts close to the front lines, have been added to Russian drone sorties.
In Kherson, deputy leader of the local administration Oleksandr Tolokonnikov describes an existence which is rapidly becoming the kind of life that Ukraine’s civilians face everywhere.
“People are constantly listening to the sounds around them. If they hear a buzzing sound, they understand that a drone may be nearby and try to find shelter as quickly as possible. If they hear artillery firing… they also try to hide.
“Another habit is constantly watching where you step. Russians are remotely dropping mines, so even a normal walk along the street can be dangerous.
“People are constantly watching where they step, listening to the sky, looking for possible threats and remembering where the nearest shelter is.
