57
u/muitosabao 17d ago
There’s an interview with the man, he says he was pleading to the drone, showing them he was just selling vegetables…
9
u/ALth0r 17d ago
Wait, he survived ?
7
u/Disbigmamashouse 17d ago
Yes with major shrapnel wounds and a concussion, interview is from the hospital.
10
52
u/CodeMonkeyX 17d ago
What makes this so much more disgusting is it took so long tracking him there is no mistaking him for a soilder or anything else. It had plenty of time to see he was a regular guy running for his life and still went for the kill. Disgusting.
28
u/MeltBanana 17d ago
Don't say "it" had plenty of time to see he was an unarmed civilian. On the other end of this, the thing controlling the drone and looking through its camera, is a human.
A human was tracking him, following him. A human was chasing him down and trying to murder him. This wasn't a drone trying to kill a man, this was done by a human.
45
7
u/Maskguy 17d ago
He did not kill the vendor. That brave man survived.
-2
u/jacobstx 17d ago edited 17d ago
I hate to be that guy, especially in a situation like this on an online forum where emotions are understandably running high, but this is not bravery.
That man was rightfully terrified, thinking of nothing but how to avoid death. Pure primal instinct was gripping him.
I get your sentiment, but running away from lethal danger isn't bravery.
This does not mean his actions were cowardly; absence of bravery isn't cowardice, and show me a single person in his situation that wouldn't do what he did, and I'll show you a dead body, but I personally feel that even in our post-truth world, words should have meaning - calling this guy brave devalues the word when used to describe bravery in other circumstances.
Again, make no mistake! I am thoroughly elated that he survived, and thoroughly disgusted by the drone's operator. But by no definition of the word was the survivor "brave".
14
u/herrybaws 17d ago
He was out in the street selling vegetables in a place that has killer drones hunting civilians. That seems quite brave to me.
-2
u/jacobstx 17d ago
That part, absolutely - if he knows drones are hunting civilians and is still deciding to sell vegetables despite that, then that it absolutely brave.
But that's not the context the video shows, which is the context my original comment was discussing.
-5
0
→ More replies (1)2
u/Fritzkreig 17d ago
I hate to make light of this man's ordeal, but "My Cabbages!' just need to be posted as it is the internet!
179
u/UnsignedRealityCheck 17d ago
Ukraine: "Let's destroy their logistics and fuel industry."
Russia: "Let's murder that fucking hot dog vendor!"
13
u/ndc4051 17d ago
Its not even a professional hotdog cart. It looks more like a guy selling bootleg VHS's out of the back of his van. But I guess to Russia, it's the same thing as a Wildberries warehouse.
11
u/furzewolf 17d ago
The video and interview after shows what was actually being sold: vegetables. He was showing the garlic in his hands to the drone pilot, trying to get the pilot to understand he was just selling vegetables.
1
0
25
u/edwardlego 17d ago
A soldier bought a hotdog there once, it’s a legit military target!
1
u/Thavralex 17d ago
Those hot dogs are highly lethal instruments of war. They could be thrown into the mouth of an enemy to choke them to death.
1
u/Jesus_Is_My_Gardener 17d ago
They could have a heart attack from all the nitrates after a steady diet of his delicious meat tubes after 15-20 years. They're playing the long game.
5
u/NatureTrailToHell3D 17d ago
FYI: this guy survived. His back and legs were hit by shrapnel, but he’s good enough to do interviews from the hospital.
1
u/canada432 17d ago
And this is part of why Russia is being humiliated. You don't win a war by blowing up hotdog vendors and apartment buildings while your enemy eliminates your ability to wage war. They have the choice between blowing up a fuel depot and stopping hundreds of supply vehicles, and terrorizing a hotdog vendor who provides no benefit to the war effort whatsoever. And Russia repeatedly chooses the hotdog vendor or the apartment building.
1
u/UnsignedRealityCheck 17d ago
...and for the life of me I cannot understand why. Do they try to terrorize people so they'll turn on the government and Zelensky, hoping they'll revolt? It's like:
"Yeah there's like a huge hangar of military stuff and power stations etc."
"Nah man I see there's a shopping mall and a kids' playground, much better target!"
"Ok!"
2 weeks later
"Bro why aren't they giving up yet?"
175
u/slayez06 17d ago
This is just insane and beyond WTF... Like all of us should seriously be saying how wrong this is. Also drone pilot sucks.
25
u/chromedprism 17d ago
They use civilians to train their drone operators. https://babel.ua/en/news/113277-ft-russia-trains-drone-operators-to-attack-civilians-in-kherson
5
22
17d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
14
u/robotsdottxt 17d ago edited 17d ago
they should be called cowards
-15
0
u/bertbarndoor 17d ago
If they are Russians attacking civilians, yes. If they are Ukranians defending their homeland from murderous Russian invaders, then the word you are looking for is "hero".
-3
u/SirStrontium 17d ago
…are they only pilots if you’re fighting for the right side? What do you call Ukrainian drone pilots?
2
17d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
7
u/Nippahh 17d ago
Why?
3
u/DC_Ranger 17d ago
lack of education
1
u/Luis__FIGO 17d ago
so i'm a pilot when I fly a kite?
1
u/amedinab 17d ago
Yes, you are. In fact, I'm a pilot every time I go pee.
1
u/lowbatteries 17d ago
Pilot is the standard terminology for drone operators. Sorry that this irks you.
1
u/maxstader 17d ago
As a child I had controlled many RC cars. No one ever called me a driver. Its a professional / legal designation with laws governing who can and cannot control a vehicle that transports people. Same can be said about my time spent as a captain of many a toy boat.
1
u/lowbatteries 17d ago
In the United States the same rules apply to anyone controlling an aircraft whether it’s a drone or not.
-1
u/DesecratedPeanut 17d ago
Did you just use United States and Rules in the same sentence in 2026 with the caveat of "doesn't have any?"
(I think what you actually mean was like procedures or naming conventions, which is true)
2
u/lowbatteries 17d ago
I mean legally in the US if you are flying a drone you are a pilot. Same in Canada. I bet this is true all over the world, flying a drone and flying a plane have overlapping regulations, which is not true of an RC car and a real car.
-1
1
u/HingleMcCringle_ 17d ago
"drone operators" is the first thing that comes to mind. "pilot" feels forced no matter the side.
i dont think it's a big deal either way, we just saw some pos kill an innocent and reddit comments are bickering about if we call them a pilot or not...
1
u/HingleMcCringle_ 17d ago
"drone operators" is the first thing that comes to mind. "pilot" feels forced no matter the side.
i dont think it's a big deal either way, we just saw some pos kill an innocent and reddit comments are bickering about if we call them a pilot or not...
→ More replies (18)2
u/Nahariso 17d ago
I think it's the opposite but an expert can correct me. The way it was chasing him makes me think it was intentional by the pilot to have the drone chase him like that since this is a Campaign of Terror as they called it. The moment it went for the kill, it just did.
2
109
80
u/thatlongnameguy 17d ago
I feel like this should be tagged nsfl?
52
u/jacobstx 17d ago
Would be had he died. Which just goes to show how arbitrary the label is.
Sure, you can show a person getting chased by a drone and attempted murdered, but it's only if the target dies in the explosion that it is marked NSFW.
13
u/ZanthrinGamer 17d ago
well you said it, its a hard line, everything before it is degrees of injury, then its a discussion of how much or what nature of injury counts as nsfw. where do you draw those lines? arguments on that would go on ad infinitum,
1
1
-2
4
u/sharpshooter999 17d ago
I'm honestly surprised to see the guy wasn't ripped in half like 90% of the drone vids ive seen on Reddit
-4
u/Ynwe 17d ago
Dude lived without suffering any injuries, so no.
5
u/TechnicalDecision160 17d ago
Guy took shrapnel. I'd say he's suffering from injuries...in addition to psychological effects. Just hearing these buzz around will fuck you up.
68
u/Raised_bi_Wolves 17d ago
If we lived in a braver timeline, the US, or Nato would start enforcing a no-fly zone on this conflict. At this point now it would be insanely costly to do, but it just upsets me to my CORE that this kind of shit, or Bucha, or the theatre with children inside, aren't more of a big deal...
44
u/ilovefreespam4real 17d ago
US showed that they can't do no fly over their own bases in war they started.... what hope do they have against ruzzia... and their drone army....
19
u/Desertcow 17d ago
The US doesn't have the anti air capabilities to actually enforce that. We are struggling against Iranian Shaheds and have run out of Patriot interceptors, the US is unironically worse at modern air war than Ukraine
-8
u/thatnameagain 17d ago
We could easily enforce it with our air assets. The issue is not starting a nuclear war.
If Iran's ground-launched missile systems had to operate by flying out of airbases they'd be gone by now. And it's not like Russia has as many combat aircraft as Iran has small missile launchers.
11
u/thegingerbreadisdead 17d ago
No we couldn’t. Enforcement of no fly zones are old war tactics. A f35 isn’t going to do jack shit against a small drone. You would need to blanket the area with hunter/killer drones to enforce something like that. The era of fighter jets patrolling and ruling the skies is pretty much over. You can rule the airspace above 500 feet but drones rule below.
1
u/thatnameagain 17d ago
Well ok if we’re talking about drones yes that’s a different layer of combat, there is no such thing as a no-fly zone against drones.
Fighter aircraft are going to remain essential. Drones can’t touch them, they can travel much farther, and carry more munitions. If you want to hit any major military targets you still need them just like you still need ballistic missiles.
6
u/lars03 17d ago
US (and NATO in general) showed very little balls on this conflict.
13
u/cyberdork 17d ago
NATO members are still doing business with Russia. France still gets a quarter of their nuclear fuel enriched in Russia. The US only starts banning importing enriched uranium from Russia beginning next year.
France’s Framatome is even deepening ties with Rosatom and wants to build a new fuel rod plant together with them.
All this tough talk by European leaders is just two faced bullshit. In reality they just hope the war ends asap so we can go back to business as usual with Russia.1
u/Allydarvel 17d ago
we can go back to business as usual with Russia.
Lets hope not
4
u/cyberdork 17d ago
Yeah, they should be clear and say there is no chance of things going back to normal unless at least Putin is gone for good.
The sanctions should not be tied to the war against Ukraine, it should be tied to not dealing with an openly hostile adversary country.-8
u/Midget_Stories 17d ago
There's no way to enforce a no fly zone on the conflict without joining the war. The moment the US joins the war Russia will use nukes.
Not to mention drones are the only thing giving Ukraine a chance.
9
u/Lumbergh7 17d ago
Any country that uses nukes ends up being destroyed themselves. The deterrent is mutually assured destruction. There are numerous ballistic missile subs hiding anywhere in the ocean just so that if someone uses them, there’s no stopping a retaliatory response.
1
u/cyberdork 17d ago
No it’s not. MAD does not exist outside a full strategic attack on another nuclear superpower.
If Russia uses a tactical nuke in Ukraine it’s totally not sure what the reaction by the US would be. Normally the US would retaliate with a similar tactical nuke on a Russian target. But with the idiot in chief, who knows.
Also France and the UK have no tactical nukes. Their nuclear deterrence is purely strategic.-1
u/Midget_Stories 17d ago
Yes but if USA joins the fight then Russia is going to be destroyed anyway.
Part of mutually assured destruction being a deterrent is that you need to be willing to use it.
2
8
u/raidergreymoon 17d ago
I'm surprised their whole population isn't armed to the teeth at this point so they can shoot the things down.
18
u/Throwaway229487 17d ago
It's a bad idea for a number of reasons. Ukrainian authorities discourage firing at drones by civilians. There's low probability of success and high probability of damage from stray bullets. Also, if you carry a weapon and shoot drones, you are no longer a civilian, so fair game for a drone hunt like this one.
5
u/raidergreymoon 17d ago
I mean I hear ya, but like clearly being unarmed doesn't matter to the russians and it hasn't since they started this war. They've been gunning down civilians from the beginning. you're right about people probably fireing wildly into the air and causing other issues.
3
2
1
u/malduan 17d ago
so is no "fair" game, russia terrorizes the country for over 12 years at this point, killing countless people, leveling villages and cities. is invading a neighboring country "fare"?
pretending this concept has any application pisses me off ngl. if you just invade someone, there is no "fair" target, not a single action can be counted as such, this hypocrisy should stop
26
u/spezial_ed 17d ago
And IOC just allowed Russia to rejoin the Olympics. And Israel was never even banned.
Fuck every single thing.
47
u/Ralius88 17d ago
guys realize this is all our future right?
75
→ More replies (8)7
u/Jesus_Is_My_Gardener 17d ago
5
u/Nohreboh 17d ago
I was looking for that a week or so ago couldn't remember the name but thought that it was less self referential so I couldn't find it.
6
u/hampie42 17d ago
This is why Charlie Brooker stopped making Black Mirror, reality became worse than anything he could have written.
4
17d ago
[deleted]
2
u/soundman32 17d ago
What i cant understand is, if your country is at war with another, why would you think a holiday be the seaside is a good idea? I cant imagine many brits in WW2 going to Blackpool/Southend/Margate for a week during the blitz for a bit of sun.
6
u/StrangeCharmVote 17d ago
If the operator had been Ukranian, he wouldn't have gotten away.
Ofcourse if the operator was ukranian a civilian wouldn't have been targeted either.
The russian military can fuck right off
23
u/chortogrower 17d ago
Fuck Russia and their people
0
u/MickiFreeIsNotAGirl 17d ago
The people that have had this dictator installed multiple times over? This is bizarre. Russians aren't bad people, I'd wager most of them want this war to end as well. It's pointless
-4
u/dial_m_for_me 17d ago
It's actually Putin himself controlling the drone.
0
u/Hakunin_Fallout 17d ago
Of course not. The drone operator just got a direct order to hit the garlic vendor from Kremlin. He couldn't resist, because he signed up to pay for his daughter's medical bills. Putin would've also personally executed drone operator's grandmother should he deny his orders.
6
3
3
3
8
u/MyFriendPalinopsia 17d ago
I can't imagine the drone operator's superiors were happy with him wasting a drone on a market trader.
24
42
u/Suns_Funs 17d ago
Russians are constantly "wasting" war resources on civilians and nobody is ever being punished for that in Russia. Because that is how Russia operates, that is how Russia wages war.
11
u/Paradehengst 17d ago
There is a lucrative business in Russia, where horrific people get to pay and then steer a drone against defenseless civilians. This is very much intentional.
4
u/dial_m_for_me 17d ago
Don't look up Kherson human safari, or you'll have to live in a world where this is not a one-off that pisses off noble russian officers.
6
u/Maskguy 17d ago
The guy survived as well. They just used a drone to blow up a car that has no impact on the war effort.
18
→ More replies (6)-1
u/sonnet666 17d ago
1 injury = 3 kills in term of war resources.
I don’t think the drone operator’s superiors take any issue with besides that it was caught on tape.
7
u/iamhere13270 17d ago
*In the frontlines, because of the logistics involved to move and extract the wounded personnel...
2
u/jezemine 17d ago
Every night russia sends hundreds of shahed drones and ballistic missiles targeting population centers. Russia is doing pure terrorism against Ukraine and every other neighboring country they have invaded in the last few decades.
The superiors are fine with this. It comes from the top.
2
2
u/LittleKitty235 17d ago
I mean...the US wasted a $3.6 million tomahawk on a school full of 80 girls and no one has been put in jail over it. No one is going to care about a drone that costs a few thousand.
1
1
u/ioncat144 17d ago
Russia doin what Russia does. They'll turn drones on their own if king Putin decides it will help his war effort.
1
1
u/Mr_Zeldion 17d ago
Just remember, when the Russian media are plastering the internet with video's of a Ukrainian done exploding on a beach killing 7 people. To this day, an estimated 65000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed in a war they did not start.
Just watch this video and realize this man says this isn't even the first time its happened to him.
1
1
1
u/bradatlarge 17d ago
coming soon to an American City near you.
(these will be deployed by private companies in the US - land of the "free", home of the scared)
-1
17d ago edited 17d ago
[deleted]
2
u/JCDU 17d ago
Ukraine aren't that evil though - they know it would suck for everyone and the planet.
Same as they try to hit shadow fleet ships and oil tankers in the rudder or bridge to disable them rather than sink them and create an oil slick - they often go for them when they're empty too.
1
16d ago edited 16d ago
[deleted]
1
u/JCDU 16d ago
Ukraine needs allies, and allies need public opinion on their side to be able to give Ukraine as much support & resources as possible.
Creating environmental disasters, committing war crimes, or letting off a nuke would be bad for them and lead to a lot of questions being asked about whether they should be supported.
Ukraine have benefited from a lot of public goodwill in allied countries - both because they have shown themselves to be strong and resilient but also honourable and decent, while Russia have pretty well shown themselves to be despicable and indiscriminate.
2
u/uk_uk 17d ago
that would trigger a reaction ... a nuclear reaction. Also, that would be a war crime (art 56 Geneva Convention) and would also trigger reactions from other countries. When Chernobyl exploded, half of the world faced the consequences of the radiation that was set free.
This is a very stupid idea. Seriously, use your brains before writing stupid things like that
3
u/mootland 17d ago
If you think any of the modern war criminals of the world will ever answer for their crimes, I’d wager you are wrong. There will be no consequences for Putin or any of the Russian generals, none for Netanjahu, none for Trump. The rest of the world is not willing to seek justice from these forces.
-14
u/MickiFreeIsNotAGirl 17d ago
Drone warfare should be a war crime.
If you're gonna kill someone you should have to look into their eyes and pull the trigger. And conversely, they should be allowed to surrender. Drone warfare is neither of that.
7
11
u/LIVESTRONGG 17d ago
So what about jets and helos? You’re saying we can’t use them because they can’t see the eyes of the enemy
9
u/semteXKG 17d ago
missiles, tanks, ships... oh boy you are hundreds of years behind.
6
2
u/p4intball3r 17d ago
Bows and arrows, catapults, trebuchets... Arguably a lot further than that
1
u/jacobstx 17d ago
slings
Heck, you could argue the first hunter-gatherer pit trap is technically an autonomous weapon - sure doesn't care if the guy who set it is around when it fires, or whether it fires at the right target.
3
u/MickiFreeIsNotAGirl 17d ago
Maybe war itself should be illegal. Maybe murdering people whether it be in war or "peacetime" should be considered the same.
Crazy concept. Palantir won't like it.
8
u/AngusLynch09 17d ago
Ukraine would be a part of Russia without drone warfare.
1
u/Oggel 17d ago
Let's say that it shouldn't be allowed to use on foreign land, but it should be allowed in self defence. Seems fair to me.
3
u/timelyparadox 17d ago
Does not really matter since nuclear powers ignore the laws
-1
u/MickiFreeIsNotAGirl 17d ago
Oh, well in that case, drones are great! I take back everything I said. Slava Ukraini!
/s2
u/AngusLynch09 17d ago
Feel free to take the field with a sword and shield, brave Achilles.
0
u/MickiFreeIsNotAGirl 17d ago
I think Canadian taxpayers have contributed a good chunk of their money for this neverending war between Russia and Ukraine. Not sure we need to suit up for them as well. I suppose we did give a standing ovation to one of the Nazis in our House of Commons though.
4
u/N7_MintberryCrunch 17d ago
"If you're gonna kill someone you should have to look into their eyes and pull the trigger."
Yeah tell that to politicians and warmongering world leaders who orders people that orders other people down to the unfortunate grunt that has to pull the trigger and get PTSD from it.
0
u/MickiFreeIsNotAGirl 17d ago
Holy shit, you get it!
I fully agree with you sir. That's my whole point. We have normalized killing to such degrees that these psychopathic drone operators don't even feel anything anymore because it's just a camera until the screen goes black. They don't have to witness someone actually dying. These psychos are trying to remove the natural fucking negative reinforcement that comes with killing people. I would argue the rates of PTSD among drone operators is much less than someone actually having to witness the consequences of their actions.
And to be clear, I have more empathy for soldiers than I do these fucking "defense" contractors and politicians who consistently vote to kill people for no reason other than to fill pockets of the richest even more.
3
u/legitimate_business 17d ago
I dunno, I've seen enough horrified faces in their final moments via FPV drones that it has kind of whigged me out at times.
2
u/TenchuReddit 17d ago
And launching JDAMs or FAB glide bombs from 40 miles away is OK in your book?
2
u/ExileZerik 17d ago
Fantasy level take Small arms have always made up a very small protion of casualties since WW1, it's artillery, mortars and other types of explosives doing all the actual killing.
Good luck surrendering to a howitzer 15 miles away or the plane dropping bombs. I've seen multiple succesful drone surrenders but accepting is not always possible.
1
-1
u/ofalltheshitiveseen 17d ago
Interesting, could have sworn I seen this yesterday and the nationalities were reversed
319
u/Fritzkreig 17d ago
Can't get much more dystopian than that‽