Russian FPV Drone Strikes Civilian Minibus in Kherson, Killing Four and Injuring Five

Russian forces attacked a civilian minibus in Kherson with an FPV drone on the morning of August 19, killing four people and injuring at least five others, according to Kherson City Military Administration head Yaroslav Shanko.

The attack occurred at around 8:50 a.m. in the city’s Korabelnyi district. Three women, aged 89, 71, and 63, and a 69-year-old man were killed in the strike. The oldest victim would have turned 90 in a month, according to local authorities.

At least five other people were injured, including the 58-year-old driver of the minibus, who suffered a blast injury.

Despite being injured himself, the driver said he decided not to wait for an ambulance and instead drove the damaged vehicle directly to a hospital so that the wounded passengers could receive medical treatment as quickly as possible.

“I decided that we would not wait for an ambulance with the wounded and drove immediately. There are people killed, seriously wounded… My blood pressure went up and I feel nauseous—probably a concussion. Because it [the FPV drone] exploded right above my head,” the driver said.

The Kherson City Military Administration said Russian forces deliberately targeted public transport during the morning rush hour, “when Kherson residents were traveling—some to work, some to the market, some to the hospital.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as another example of a “brutal Russian ‘safari’” in Kherson that “has long gone beyond anything any normal person could imagine.”

“All necessary services are at the scene and are establishing the details. What is absolutely clear is that the bus was civilian. These are the everyday realities of life in Ukraine’s frontline regions. While partners hesitate over additional supplies of defensive equipment, the Russians have long crossed the line of impunity,” Zelenskyy wrote.

The August 19 strike follows another deadly attack on public transport in Kherson last month. On July 1, a Russian drone targeted a minibus in the city’s central district at around 7:00 a.m., killing two people and injuring at least nine others, according to regional authorities.

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