Russia Escalates Drone Strikes on Ukrainian Farms, Nearly Doubling Burned Farmland

Russian forces have sharply escalated strikes on Ukraine’s agricultural sector, destroying crops, machinery, and targeting farm workers with explosive drones, The Moscow Times reported on September 10. The attacks have nearly doubled the area of farmland burned compared to last year.

One of the most striking cases involved farmer Oleksandr Hordiienko from the Kherson region. In July Russian drones had repeatedly targeted him, destroying his tractor, car, and home. “They are hunting me,” he said.

Hordiienko equipped himself with jamming devices and rifles, claiming to have downed more than 80 drones before he was killed on September 5 when a drone struck his vehicle as he escorted farm equipment.

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“True Steward of the Land”: Kherson Farmer Olexandr Hordiienko, Who Cleared Thousands of Mines, Killed in Russian Attack

Sep 05, 2025 15:52

According to research by the University of Strasbourg, the University of Maryland, and NASA’s Harvest program, the number of fires on farmland in Ukrainian-controlled areas of the Kherson region rose by 87.5% this year. Ukrainian authorities state that since the beginning of the war, around 15 agricultural workers have been killed in the region and more than 40 injured, many during mine-clearing operations.

Farmers are now forced to defend themselves. Some hire veterans for protection, while others invest in counter-drone technology. Vasyl Shtendera, a farmer in Kherson, told WSJ that he bought protective gear for his workers after one was killed and four were wounded in May.

“We were not prepared for this,” he said. “Nobody taught us. We are learning ourselves how to cope with it.”

Earlier, it was reported that vast stretches of Ukraine’s farmland have been scarred by craters, severely disrupting agricultural production and contributing to long-term environmental damage estimated at over $85 billion.

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