Russian military forces published video footage this week showing an FPV drone striking a person riding a bicycle in Ukraine's Donetsk region, in what Ukrainian officials say is part of a documented pattern of attacks on unarmed civilians.
The footage appeared on the official Telegram channel of Russia's 3rd Combined Guards Army of the Air Force before being widely shared across Russian news channels. According to captions accompanying the post, the strike occurred near the village of Vasylivska Pustosh in Donetsk.
The video shows an individual in civilian clothing cycling along a road. The administrator of the Russian military channel claimed that forces had "eliminated enemy manpower" using FPV drones. However, the released footage shows no visible weapons or military uniform on the cyclist.
Ukrainian authorities have documented multiple similar incidents over recent months. In June 2025, an elderly man riding a bicycle was killed in Sumy region during what Ukraine described as a combined Russian attack. In May 2025, a cyclist in Kherson was killed by a Russian drone strike, with investigations ongoing. In March, Russian forces attacked a civilian woman using a drone in Kherson region.
The repeated publication of attack footage by Russian military sources has drawn attention from Ukrainian officials as evidence of a systematic targeting pattern, though Russian military channels do not acknowledge striking civilians.
