In Kherson, residents live under daily threat from Russian drones

In Kherson, Ukraine, residents say they face a daily risk of death from cheap Russian quadcopter drones that have driven many aspects of life underground, The New York Times reported on Jan. 28, 2026. Locals use crowdsourced chat groups to warn of incoming drones before stepping outside.

Tanya Leshchenko, who checked a chat before taking her 5‑year‑old from day care, said, “You cannot outrun a drone,” and added, “It’s scary.” The city lies within range of quadcopters Russian forces launch from territory they occupy across the Dnipro River. Authorities say about 200 civilians have been killed and 2,000 wounded in drone strikes over the past year, and the population has fallen to about 65,000 after three‑quarters of residents fled.

Rights groups describe Kherson as the site of the most intensive use of drones in war crimes anywhere in the world and say Ukrainians call the attacks a “human safari.” Much of civic life has moved underground: hospitals, a maternity ward, government offices, a theater and dozens of other institutions; schools are online only and basement activity rooms have replaced outdoor playgrounds.

The city has deployed multiple defenses, including a wall of jamming antennas, dozens of miles of nets over thoroughfares, 250 concrete escape chambers and hand‑held drone detectors for municipal workers. Officials and residents describe the drones as hard to evade.

kherson

dnipro river

russian drones

quadcopter drones

cheap russian quadcopter drones

crowdsourced chat groups

crowdsourced drone alerts

tanya leshchenko

yaroslav shanko

human rights watch

human safari

underground hospitals

underground maternity ward

underground theater

basement activity rooms

anti-drone nets

jamming antennas

hand-held drone detectors

concrete escape chambers

drone war crimes

grenade drone attacks

butterfly mine

volodymyr oleinichuk

volodymyr baiadarov

oleh pinchuk

200 civilians killed

2,000 wounded

population 65,000

schools online only

occupied territory across dnipro