Ukrainians face new airborne threat that has killed 24 civilians and injured hundreds more since July

Sasha Ustenko has survived three attacks by the Russian drones that stalk the streets of Kherson carrying fragmentation grenades to drop on anything that moves. The first, in late July, targeted a parked police car in central Kherson just as Ustenko walked past, throwing him to the ground. The second, in mid-August, hit a drinking water tanker as he queued for supplies, killing the driver. Ustenko was concussed, and came round to see a man lying in a pool of blood.

The third time, in late September, he heard the drone buzzing above and sprinted for shelter under the branches of a cherry tree. He hoped its leaves would hide him but the grenade tumbled through the canopy and landed barely a metre away.

Prosecutor general investigating drone footage apparently showing summary executions of surrendering soldiers

Authorities in Ukraine have launched an investigation into what they said was the apparent summary execution by Russian troops of 16 Ukrainian soldiers who had surrendered on the eastern frontline.

“This is the largest reported case of the execution of Ukrainian PoWs on the frontline and yet another indication that the killing and torture of prisoners of war are not isolated incidents,” Ukraine’s prosecutor general, Andriy Kostin, said on X. “This is a deliberate policy of the Russian military and political leadership.”