Russian Drones Become The Most Deadly Killer Weapons In Ukraine

JAKARTA - Short-range aerial drones killed the most civilians in Ukraine in January. The UN monitoring mission highlighted the use of drones increased during three years of war with Russia.

The UN mission said 139 civilians were killed and 738 injured in January 2025, with 27 percent of deaths and 30 percent of injuries caused by short-range drones.

In total, the United Nations says nearly 12,500 civilians were killed in the war including 650 children although the United Nations has repeatedly said the number is too small as it only includes deaths that have been verified by its team.

Air drones, which at the start of the war were mostly seen as a tool, have become one of the most important battlefield weapons in the conflict, with Ukraine and Russia producing more than one million drones each by 2024.

"Our data shows a clear and disturbing pattern of short-range drone use in a way that endangers civilians", said UN Monitoring Mission Chief, Danielle Bell, quoted by Reuters, Tuesday, February 11.

The Camera (drone) on board should allow operators to distinguish between higher levels of certainty between civilian and military targets, but civilians continue to be killed in alarming numbers," he added.

Russia has denied deliberately targeting civilians, although thousands of people have been killed since the country launched a massive invasion of its neighboring country in February 2022.