Anne Applebaum warns Russia's drone war could spread beyond the battlefield

She cites the case of Yurii, a 52-year-old vegetable vendor in Kherson, who was pursued by a Russian drone near his market stall. He tried to show the operator that he was not a soldier, holding only garlic in his hands and pointing to the vegetables. Despite this, the drone continued to follow him and struck near his vehicle. Yurii survived with cuts and a concussion.

Applebaum notes that since 2024, Russian drones have been "hunting people" in Kherson and other parts of southern and eastern Ukraine, deliberately tracking and attacking civilians.

According to Applebaum, drones were initially seen as offering a humanitarian advantage because they allowed operators to avoid civilian casualties. Equipped with cameras, operators can identify targets in real time, determine whether they are military and abort an attack if they are not.

However, she argues that any technology can be used for different purposes. Rather than avoiding civilian casualties, Russian operators are using drones to deliberately hunt civilians.

Applebaum warns that Russia's attacks in Ukraine may mark the beginning of a new era of warfare. She argues that the world is not yet prepared, either technically or psychologically, for the widespread use of intelligent and lethal machines.

In her view, these changes could soon extend beyond the battlefield. The next areas to be transformed by such technology may include crime, terrorism, law enforcement and the legal system. What today appears dystopian in videos from Ukraine could become tomorrow's reality.

Last year, U.N. investigators accused Russia of committing crimes against humanity. The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine concluded that Russia was responsible for such crimes in Kherson Oblast of southern Ukraine. The findings were published in a report based on a comprehensive investigation into a 10-month campaign of Russian drone strikes against civilians, beginning in July 2024. The investigation covered more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) of southern Ukraine along the right bank of the Dnipro River around the city of Kherson.

The report described in detail how civilians were targeted "in a variety of circumstances, primarily outdoors," including pedestrians and people traveling in different types of vehicles. It also said ambulances were struck in some cases, apparently to prevent medics from providing emergency treatment to the wounded.