H.E. Mr. Andrii Sybiha, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine:

Russia is systematically using FPV-drones to hunt Ukrainian civilians. And there is a particularly chilling cynicism to these crimes: the operator sees the victim in real time. Sees a civilian. Watches the person run, hide, or try to escape. And then deliberately follows and strikes.

There is no “fog of war” here. No plausible claim of an unfortunate mistake. The technology itself gives the Russian operator the ability to see whom they are killing. They choose to kill anyway.

And then comes another layer of depravity: Russian soldiers film these hunts and publish the footage online as trophies and entertainment. They boast about killing civilians and, in doing so, leave behind evidence of their own war crimes.

This practice has acquired a horrifyingly accurate name: Russia’s “human safari.” Kherson region is among its most extensively documented examples, but the geography of such attacks is expanding. Their repetition and scale leave little room for the convenient fiction of “a few rogue soldiers.” This is becoming a method of Russia’s war: cheap technology, deliberate terror, civilian victims, and an expectation of impunity.

The world must understand what is at stake. Russia is a laboratory for some of the most brutal methods of modern warfare, and Ukraine is where they are being tested on people. Moscow is accumulating battlefield experience in using mass-produced drones to terrorise civilians. What is being tested against Ukrainians today could tomorrow be replicated by Russia’s friends like Iran or North Korea or their proxies elsewhere.

Technologies spread, tactics spread as well. And when crimes go unpunished, impunity spreads with them.

This is why every attack and every video must become evidence. Ukraine is working with the ICC, UN and OSCE mechanisms, and our partners to ensure accountability throughout the chain of command — from the operator behind the screen to the commanders and senior Russian military and political leadership that have enabled these war crimes.

We will begin consultations with OSCE participating States on the possible invocation of the Moscow Mechanism to independently examine Russia’s systematic use of FPV drones against Ukrainian civilians, establish patterns, and identify the units and individuals responsible.

But accountability cannot wait for some distant future. I call on national parliaments to recognise Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism. I also urge our partners to strengthen Ukraine’s ability to protect frontline communities with the electronic warfare, detection, and interception capabilities needed to stop these drones before they reach their victims.

Russia has turned FPV cameras into sights for hunting civilians. The footage its soldiers publish as trophies must ultimately become evidence against them.

Those who hunt civilians today because they believe they are untouchable must know where this road ends: with their names established, their chain of command exposed, and arrest warrants instead of Russian medals.