Continuous Russian drone strikes against civilians are making Ukrainian-controlled areas along the Dnieper River in the south of the country increasingly uninhabitable, DPA reported, citing a report by independent UN human rights investigators, BTA reported.
"Local authorities report a sharp decline in the population as a result of the drone attacks, and that some areas are almost completely abandoned," the report says. Those who remain are mostly elderly and poor, the report, prepared by the Independent International Commission on Ukraine, said.
UN experts say Russian attacks in the Dnieper River region, which marks a 300-kilometer front line in southern Ukraine, are "systemic" and aimed at terrorizing civilians. Firefighters and ambulances are also being targeted, and people's homes are being deliberately set on fire, hindering efforts to put out the fires.
The shutdown of electricity, gas and water supplies has rendered many settlements uninhabitable, the report found. It said civilians are often "chased" by Russian drones at "long distances" in the Kherson region. The report describes a series of similar attacks on ordinary Ukrainians, which the document says constitute war crimes.
The report also condemns the forced deportation of Ukrainian residents, mainly from Russian-occupied areas in the southern Zaporizhia region. Several hundred people were taken to Ukrainian-controlled territories at the beginning of the war, and later, in 2024 and 2025, they were taken to Georgia, the commission said. More than 200 eyewitnesses were interviewed in the report. The authors note that Moscow has denied them access to Russian-controlled territories despite numerous requests.