In Ukraine Short Range Drones Become Most Dangerous Weapon for Civilians UN Human Rights Monitors Say

According to HRMMU’s verified data, published today in its monthly update on the protection of civilians, at least 139 civilians were killed and 738 injured in Ukraine in January 2025. Thirty-eight civilian deaths (27 per cent) and 223 injuries (30 per cent) resulted from attacks with short-range drones dropping explosives onto civilians, often in their private vehicles or on public transport.

“Short-range drones now pose one of the deadliest threats to civilians in frontline areas,” said Danielle Bell, Head of HRMMU. “In January 2025, short-range drones killed and injured more civilians than any other weapon, striking people in their cars, on buses, and on streets.”

In January, 95 per cent of casualties from short-range drone occurred in territory controlled by Ukraine. Five per cent occurred in territory occupied by the Russian Federation.

The drones used in most short-range attacks were likely so-called first-person-view (FPV) drones. These drones are equipped with cameras that provide their operators on the ground with a real-time direct view of areas being traversed and potential targets. In principle, this allows an operator to assess with a higher degree of certainty whether a potential target is a military objective or a civilian person or object.

The majority of civilian casualties from short-range drones have occurred in government-controlled parts of Kherson, particularly along the Dnipro River. In January, these drones caused 70 per cent of all civilian casualties in the region. For example, on the afternoon of 6 January, when many people were commuting home from work, a short-range drone dropped explosives on a regular public transit bus in Kherson City, killing a man and a woman and injuring eight additional civilians (six women and two men).

HRMMU has also documented an increase in civilian casualties from short-range drones in other frontline areas, including in Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.

A survivor of an attack in Mykolaiv on 9 January told HRMMU how a small drone circled above his head before diving directly at him while he was working in his home’s garden. “I realized that I did not have time to hide. I dropped to the ground and covered my head with my hands,” he said. “The blast wave tore off all my clothes. I somehow instinctively tried to protect my eyes. This saved my eyesight, because after the drone explosion, the backs of my palms were covered with small metal fragments, which surgeons later removed. My wedding ring was so pressed into my finger that they had to saw it off to remove it from my finger.”

Short-range drones have also killed and injured civilians on territory occupied by the Russian Federation, particularly in Horlivka (Donetsk region). Civilian vehicles and public transport buses have been struck. For example, on 12 January, in the morning, a short-range drone struck a regular public transit bus in Horlivka, killing its driver (a man).

HRMMU documented a steep rise in civilian casualties resulting from the use of short-range drones throughout 2024, with casualty numbers spiking in the last half of the year.

“Our data shows a clear and disturbing pattern of short-range drones being used in ways that put civilians at grave risk,” Bell noted. “The on-board cameras should allow operators to distinguish with a higher degree of certainty between civilians and military objectives, yet civilians continue to be killed in alarming numbers.”