“You feel like you’re.
Constantly being hunted.
Like someone is always.
Looking at you.”
“And can drop explosives.
At any moment.
It’s the worst thing.”
Says a woman, who works.
At an aid centre.
Just 1km from.
The Dnipro river.
In Kherson.
To get to the centre.
Without being followed.
By drones.
You drive at a high speed.
Take the cover of trees.
While parking.
And then head indoors quickly.
On a shelf behind her.
A small device confirms.
The threat outside.
– buzzing each time.
It detects a drone.
It buzzed every few minutes.
While you were there.
– often detecting the presence.
Of at least four drones.
“When the leaves fall.
From the trees.
There will be.
Many more victims.”
“Because if you are.
In the street.
There’s nowhere.
To hide.”
Trauma is visible.
On the faces of.
The residents you meet.
Who have braved.
Stepping out.
Of their homes.
Only to stock up.
On food.
A resident wipes her eyes.
“We are in.
A horrible situation.
When we come out.”
“When we come out.
We move from.
One tree to another.
Taking cover.”
“Every day they attack.
Public buses.
Every day they drop bombs.
On us using drones.”
“When the leaves fall.
From the trees.
There will be.
Many more victims.”
“Because if you are.
In the street.
There’s nowhere.
To hide.”
Another woman says.
She was narrowly missed.
By a drone strike.
On her car.
Minutes before.
She was due to.
Get back in her car.
After visiting a friend.
A bomb fell.
Through the roof.
Above the driver’s seat.
Ripping through.
One side of the vehicle.
And leaving it.
A mangled mess of.
Metal, plastic and glass.
“If I’d been in my car.
I would have died.
Do I look like.
A military person?”
“Does my car look like?
A military car?”
She works as a cleaner.
And the car was.
And the car was.
Essential to her work.
She doesn’t have.
The money to fix it.
She says drones.
Are more terrifying.
Than shelling.
“When we hear.”
“A shell launch.
From the other side.
Of the river.
We have time to react.”
“With drones.
You can easily miss their sound.
They are quick.
They see you and strike.”
“When the leaves fall.
From the trees.
There will be.
Many more victims.”
“Because if you are.
In the street.
There’s nowhere.
To hide.”
A man, who runs.
The aid centre says.
Drones spread.
Even more fear.
Than shelling.
Immobilising the population.
“If a drone locks on you.
The truth is it’s.”
“Probably ‘game over’.
At that point.
There’s no defence.
Against it.”
The cleaner says that.
As winter approaches.
The fear of drones.
Will get worse.
“When the leaves fall.
From the trees.
There will be.
Many more victims.”
“Because if you are.
In the street.
There’s nowhere.
To hide.”
In the last few months.
Says a spokesman for.
Kherson’s military administration.
The ‘orcs’ military has also begun.
To use drones.
To remotely drop.
Mines along pedestrian.
Car and bus routes.
He said explosions.
Had been caused by.
Butterfly mines.
– small, anti-personnel mines.
Which can glide.
To the ground.
And detonate later.
On contact.
Butterfly mines.
– which are coated.
With leaves.
To camouflage them.
“When the leaves fall.
From the trees.
There will be.
Many more victims.”
“Because if you are.
In the street.
There’s nowhere.
To hide.”
“You feel like you’re.
Constantly being hunted.
Like someone is always.
Looking at you.”
“And can drop explosives.
At any moment.
It’s the worst thing.”
Says a woman, who works.
At an aid centre.
Just 1km from.
The Dnipro river.
In Kherson.
To get to the centre.
Without being followed.
By drones.
You drive at a high speed.
Take the cover of trees.
While parking.
And then head indoors quickly.
On a shelf behind her.
A small device confirms.
The threat outside.
– buzzing each time.
It detects a drone.
It buzzed every few minutes.
While you were there.
– often detecting the presence.
Of at least four drones.
*Because I read “Russian drones hunt civilians, evidence suggests” by Yogita Limaye on 31 Oct 2024, and also “Why are Ukrainians calling Russians ‘orcs’?” by James FitzGerald on 30 Apr 2022, on the BBC news.
So, I wrote this poem, including a story of Kristina, a story of Valentyna, a story of Olena, a story of Ben, and a story of Oleksandr Tolokonnikov.
Please read the original story on the BBC news:
Drone strikes on civilians suggest new Russian terror tactic in Ukraine
