ISW: Russians “weaponizing civilian harm as an intentional tool of war” by pervasively employing human safari tactics
Russia has embedded deliberate civilian targeting into its air interdiction template in southern Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War assessed on 7 April. Two first-person view (FPV) drone strikes on civilian buses in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast that day killed at least four and injured at least 24. ISW called the campaign a war crime.
How Russia weaponized a military doctrine against civilians
Battlefield air interdiction (BAI) is a military concept designed to hit military objects and logistics infrastructure — not civilian targets. ISW said Russia has been applying this template against civilians in southern Ukraine. Russian forces deploy FPV drones against mainly civilian targets behind the front line, aiming to deny use of specific roads entirely. Civilian objects fall outside the scope of traditional BAI. Russia's version applies to civilian targets — and ISW noted that using civilian harm as a tool of war constitutes a war crime.
"Russian forces continue to conduct drone strikes intentionally targeting civilians in southern Ukraine, weaponizing civilian harm as an intentional tool of war," ISW wrote, later noting, "The intentional use of civilian harm as a tool of war is a war crime."
ISW notes that Russian forces pervasively employ "human safari tactics" across southern Ukraine. Russian forces actively hunt civilian targets with FPV drones, striking them across the region.
Two civilian buses, 7 April
Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration head Oleksandr Hanzha reported an FPV drone strike on a city bus in central Nikopol on 7 April. This attack killed at least four civilians and injured at least 17. The bus was pulling into a stop at the time of the strike. Hanzha separately reported a second FPV strike on a civilian bus in Chervonohryhorivka Hromada, east of Nikopol, injuring at least five civilians the same day. Russian attacks injured a total of 24 civilians across the region over the past day.
Euromaidan Press reported the Nikopol bus attack as it unfolded on 7 April.
The 7 April strikes follow a consistent pattern. Russian forces killed five civilians and injured 28 at a Nikopol market on 4 April.
