Footage reveals Russian drone strike on marked medical convoy

CIR has verified footage showing a drone strike against a convoy of marked medical and evacuation vehicles operating near the front line in Donetsk Oblast – highlighting the risk to volunteer evacuators and medical personnel along the front line.

This report includes links to footage of civilian casualties and footage of damaged medical vehicles.

On 10 April 2025, CIR verified footage showing a drone strike against a convoy of marked medical/evacuation vehicles operating near the front line in Donetsk Oblast. As a result of this strike, CIR verified one severely damaged medical vehicle and two lightly injured/wounded medical personnel/volunteers. Attacks against evacuation vehicles are frequently reported, however, incidents are usually difficult to verify due to volunteers regularly using unmarked vehicles. 

Incident verification and analysis

CIR identified footage shared on 10 April 2025 by Telegram channel ‘Донбасс|Фронт|Обстановка’ showing the moment of a drone strike on a likely medical or evacuation convoy. The next day, 11 April 2025, another longer video of the same incident was shared by pro-Ukrainian Telegram channel ‘Донбас Оперативний’ at approximately 08:13 local time in Ukraine.

The footage shows a convoy of three vehicles moving east along the ‘T 0504’ highway from Pokrovsk towards Myrnohrad. At approximately four seconds into the video shared on 10 April, what CIR assesses to be a fixed-wing FPV drone, likely a ‘Molniya’ or similar drone model, narrowly misses the lead vehicle in the convoy and detonates. CIR identified the likely model of drone by comparing it to other images of the Molniya-2 (see Figure 2 below). Although the drone impacted the road and narrowly missed directly hitting the lead vehicle, CIR verified significant damage to the lead vehicle and two wounded occupants of the vehicle. 

CIR verified that all three vehicles involved in the convoy were marked with decals highlighting they were evacuation/medical vehicles. Red crosses can be seen on the three vehicles and at least one of the vehicles had a banner on the windscreen that identified it as an evacuation vehicle. 

CIR also identified what may be electronic warfare (EW) equipment on the roof of the white van in the convoy (middle vehicle). As a result of this EW equipment, CIR assesses it is possible that the operator of the drone believed the convoy was military in nature. CIR has previously observed that the presence of  EW equipment can disrupt and degrade the quality of drone video feeds. For example, as seen in Figure 4 below, EW equipment likely affected a FPV drone feed in Kherson Oblast, in footage shared on 4 April.

CIR have noted an increase in the use of EW by humanitarian vehicles in close proximity to the front line in recent weeks. This is likely due to the increased risk drones pose to civilians in close proximity to the front line that has escalated over the last 6 months. 

CIR noted a similar incident took place in Kherson, Kherson Oblast on 4 April when a likely volunteer van evacuating civilians was struck twice by two FPV kamikaze drones. In this incident, the van targeted also had EW equipment attached and one of the occupants wore body armour. As previously mentioned, pro-Russian Telegram channels often use this as evidence of military activity to justify these attacks.

Following the strike, two lightly injured individuals in civilian clothing can be seen emerging from the damaged vehicle. Three individuals wearing civilian clothing and body armour can also be seen tending to the injured and assessing the damage (see Figure 5 below). Pro-Russian Telegram channels have previously shared footage of individuals wearing body armour being targeted by drones, claiming they are military personnel. However, CIR assesses the individuals struck in this incident are clearly civilians wearing protective armour given their civilian attire, age, and the lack of other military equipment and weaponry visible. 

Both the incidents in Myrnohrad, Donetsk Oblast, and Kherson, Kherson Oblast, highlight the high level of risk to volunteer evacuators and medical personnel along the front line. The incidents are also indicative of the way in which these volunteer personnel have protectively adapted to the risk of drone strikes – by using EW equipment on their vehicles and by wearing protective armour – and subsequently show how this is being leveraged by pro-Russian Telegram channels to justify the attacks.