“But six months ago, of course, it was scary, and there were strikes. But it wasn’t like this. Now it’s just a safari,” Zaporizhzhia resident Kateryna Lahuta told the news agency “Reuters,” whose fishery business was hit by two Russian bombs last month.
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Ukrainians began using the term “safari” to describe drones “hunting” civilians or vehicles on the streets — such a war reality is illustrated by a video released this week showing a drone chasing and injuring a vegetable seller in Kherson.
Journalists visiting the woman’s company had to look for shelter when they heard the buzzing of a first-person view (FPV) drone – these are small, maneuverable drones loaded with explosives and controlled via video link. It is these drones that have turned long stretches along the front line into a “killing zone.”
As Kateryna said, Russian attacks scared off buyers and made long-term planning almost impossible. In addition, the need to join the armed forces has also caused a labor shortage.
“Every day is like some kind of fight,” the woman said.
Deadly Russian first-person view drones attack groups of civilians, vehicles, and public transport, especially in the southern part of Zaporizhzhia, noted the regional administration head Ivan Fedorov.
“The enemy prioritizes creating maximum pressure on the civilian population,” he said in an interview in an underground school set up as a bomb shelter.
Meanwhile, 34-year-old seamstress Anna Syvova recounted that once, returning home in the southern part of the city, she saw a Russian drone crash into a bus driving nearby.
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“Maybe I have a good guardian angel,” she said.
The woman takes her six-year-old daughter to an underground kindergarten and noted that she and her child have learned to adapt to such everyday dangers.
“It sounds terrible, but we have gotten used to this kind of life. Unfortunately, for now, we have no other choice,” Anna lamented.
I. Fedorov added that Russia attacks Zaporizhzhia four to six times a day with aviation bombs that “fly unpredictably.”
As civil servant Tatiana recounted, standing by her destroyed home, last month Russian soldiers “went crazy” and bombed her district six times in a week.
“Honestly, I am completely exhausted. No emotions,” she noted, looking at the burnt-out car frames scattered all over the yard.
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