Russian soldiers boast of drone attack on unarmed cyclist in civilian clothing, later delete video
Russia's 3rd Combined Arms Army posted footage on Telegram showing a drone attacking an unarmed man in civilian clothing riding a bicycle in Donetsk Oblast; the post was deleted after Russian outlet Astra drew attention to it.
Russian independent media outlet Astra has flagged a video published on 21 August on the official Telegram channel of Russia's 3rd Combined Arms Army. The footage shows a drone strike on an unarmed man wearing civilian clothes while riding a bicycle near the settlement of Vasylivska Pustosh in Donetsk Oblast.
What the post said
The original caption claimed that servicemen from the 2nd Artillery Brigade had "eliminated enemy manpower" using FPV drones near the settlement, adding that the opposing side kept losing personnel and hideouts and had nowhere left to hide.
Footage removed after exposure
After Astra reported on the video, the 3rd Army's Telegram channel deleted it. Astra had preserved screenshots documenting both the original post and its description before it was taken down.
Deliberate military attacks on civilians constitute a grave breach of international humanitarian law and are classified as war crimes.
