'This was my home': Israeli-Ukrainian speaks out after viral Kherson drone attack

An Israeli-Ukrainian originally from the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson says a viral video showing a Russian drone pursuing a civilian at a local market has underscored not only the realities of life under attack but also how online discussions can overshadow the victims themselves.

The footage, which has circulated widely on social media and was later shared by Ukrainian President Zelensky, shows an explosive drone chasing a greengrocer through a market before detonating nearby. The man survived with minor injuries, according to Ukrainian officials.

Yevgeny, a former Kherson resident who immigrated to Israel after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, recognized the location immediately.

"It happened in my neighborhood, about 330 feet from my family's home and less than 330 feet from the café I used to own," he told i24NEWS.

Yevgeny said he initially searched the video's comment sections hoping to learn whether the victim had survived. Instead, he found many discussions centered on unrelated geopolitical conflicts, particularly Israel and Gaza.

"My first instinct was to find out if the man was alive," he said. "Instead of asking about the victim, many people were arguing about Israel, Gaza and Palestine. Others dismissed the footage as propaganda or repeated conspiracy theories claiming Ukraine attacks its own civilians."

He said the experience reflected what many Ukrainians feel is diminishing international attention to the war despite the continued violence faced by civilians.

"This wasn't just another viral video," Yevgeny said. "This was my home. For people in Kherson, the war is still a daily reality."

The victim in the video, identified by Ukrainian media as 52-year-old greengrocer Yuriy, described the attack from his hospital bed. He said he had just begun unloading vegetables at the market when the drone appeared overhead.

"My wife started running away, and the drone began moving toward me," Yuriy recalled. "I waved my hands as if to show there were only vegetables here, but it kept flying toward me."

He said he ran before the drone exploded nearby.

"I was holding garlic," he said. "There were tomatoes, cucumbers and eggplants on the ground. There was nothing military there."

Yuriy suffered a concussion, blast injuries and multiple shrapnel wounds to his back and legs but survived. He said it was the second time he had narrowly escaped an attack by an unmanned aerial vehicle.