War WATCH: Episode 6 – Ukraine: The Human Cost of Drones

This is the final episode of War Watch, our series exploring armed conflicts and the laws that seek to limit their impact.

In 2024 and 2025, the UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine documented systematic drone attacks on civilians in southern Ukraine—attacks the Commission concluded constitute crimes against humanity. But this isn’t a story about military strategy or territorial control. It’s about how commercially available technology—the same drones used for racing and photography—is being weaponized to terrorize civilians. Real-time video feeds allow operators to see exactly who they’re targeting. Telegram channels broadcast the attacks like video games, with threatening messages telling people “there is nowhere to hide.” The result: over 3,000 civilian homes destroyed, entire populations displaced, infrastructure collapse, and a climate of terror that makes daily life impossible.

This episode examines three dimensions: how drones enable systematic war crimes and raise new legal questions; how physical terror from above combines with psychological warfare online to create forced displacement; and what role private companies—from DJI to Telegram—play in enabling these attacks. Joining us are Commissioner Pablo de Greiff from the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, who led the investigation documenting these violations, and Anna Greipl, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Geneva Law Faculty specializing in emerging technologies and international humanitarian law. Anna exceptionally serves as our legal adviser on this episode.

Reports referenced:

“They are hunting us: systematic drone attacks against civilians in Kherson Province” (May 2025
UN General Assembly Report on Ukraine (October 2025)
Both available at: ohchr.org
Resources:

Explore Ukraine violations on the War Watch portal: warwatch.ch
Learn more about the Geneva Academy: geneva-academy.ch