KHERSON, Ukraine – The southern front in the war in Ukraine has become a hunting ground for Russian drone operators who now brag openly online about targeting civilians. During a recent trip to the region, CBN News followed a volunteer team helping those still under constant threat of drone attack.
Daily life in Kherson means enduring those Russian attack drones launched from just across the Dnipro River. Civilians say operators use them for target practice, calling it a “human safari.” The threat forces all who remain to live under nets that stretch for miles, which still isn’t enough. People are killed here almost every day. Still, a small team from Hope for Ukraine makes a regular 12-hour trek crossing into the danger zone to reach those cut off from food, heat, and power.
Kherson resident Valentyna Kovalchuk said, “We are surviving with great difficulty. We lived in a private house. It’s a complete red zone there. Drones are swarming. It’s impossible to even go out into the yard.”
The humanitarian group from Hope for Ukraine is coming in here almost every week and bringing supplies to the people who are still living in Kherson. The Russians are bombing this place every day. But it’s not just the bombs that they have to worry about, because there’s just not enough food in here for these people to survive without the help of people like this.
“Our life here is truly awful,” Kherson resident Liudmyla Havrylenko said. “We are in a red zone. Everyone is afraid to come here to us. Local authorities. Regional authorities. They do not come to us. We are without power, without anything. No electricity, no services. Everyone is afraid. Houses collapse daily.”
We visited a still-smoldering home where an elderly woman had lived. She was killed when a drone targeted her house – hardly a military target.
Even for those in homes still standing, the winter is brutal. Russian strikes have gutted power stations, leaving whole districts without light for hours each day.
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Hope for Ukraine brings food kits and solar power units so families can cook without producing smoke that might draw a drone. Many of these volunteers are Ukrainian believers who’ve been helping displaced families since the first Russian invasion in 2014.
Hope for Ukraine’s Yuriy Boyechko explains, “So basically there’s a food kit that sustains families for up to ten days. And then you have the solar power generator and a cooktop that comes with that. So that’s basically what we’ve been, really, pushing right now to the front line.”
The last time this CBN News reporter was here was three years ago, right after this area was liberated from the Russians by Ukraine. And the mood at that time was jubilant. There were hundreds, if not thousands of people arrayed in the public square, all celebrating the freedom that they got after being under Russian occupation for a long time.
Now it’s a much more somber scene. Flags and pictures are displayed representing those who have died here, fighting for Ukraine. Even the city hall in this location was struck and demolished by a missile. Our quick visit to this spot risked a possible drone attack, so we didn’t linger.
Ukrainian villager Halyna Petrova is grateful for the aid from Hope for Ukraine. “And now many drones are flying and the power goes out. We sit without electricity for a very, very long time. Practically, there is no power at all. They cut it every four hours, then five, and there’s no light. Well, it’s thanks to you that we’re getting at least some assistance brought in,” Petrova said.
For the people still living inside Kherson’s kill zone, aid-runs like this are the thin line between survival and collapse.
Although Russia’s military continues its so-called “human safari,” the teams that return each week say they won’t abandon those who cannot leave.
