Russian forces target Ukrainian volunteer evacuating civilians with FPV drones during Easter 'ceasefire'
Russian forces during the so-called Easter ceasefire targeted a Ukrainian volunteer’s vehicle with three (first person-view) FPV drones while he was evacuating civilians in Donetsk Oblast, Ukrainska Pravda reported on April 20.
Volunteer Yevhen Tkachov was evacuating civilians from the village of Zoria, located to the south of Kramatorsk, when they were targeted by the first drone some 50 meters from the Donetsk Highway.
“I turned on the emergency lights, got out of the car, and started waving my arms to show that I was a civilian,” Tkachov told Ukrainska Pravda.
“Despite that, the drone struck just half a meter from my car. I motioned for the two cars behind me to go ahead, but I couldn’t drive myself anymore because my car wouldn’t start (after being damaged by the drone strike).”
Tkachov and two civilians who had been in the vehicle with him reportedly took cover in nearby bushes as a second FPV drone circled overhead and struck just meters away, leaving one of the civilians wounded by shrapnel.
A third drone then destroyed their car before they were rescued by a chaplain.
Russia’s Easter ceasefire was supposed to come into effect at 6 pm on April 19 and last until midnight on April 21, with Russian President Vladimir Putin claiming it would “test Ukraine’s sincerity in pursuing peace talks."
Since then, multiple ceasefire violations have been reported across the front line, while at least one person was killed and four others injured in Kherson Oblast.
“We are documenting every Russian violation of its self-declared commitment to a full ceasefire for the Easter period and are prepared to provide the necessary information to our partners,” Zelensky said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, on April 20.
“Either Putin does not have full control over his army, or the situation proves that in Russia, they have no intention of making a genuine move toward ending the war, and are only interested in favorable PR coverage."
The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk