Kherson Weekly: 18-24 January 2025
A Weekly Review of War-Related Events and Information Space in & around Kherson
Photo: Osvedomitell Alex
Video of the Week
Ukrainian sharks of the 40th Brigade continue to feed along the banks of the Dnipro. In this latest release from one of Ukraine’s newest additions to its growing Marine Corps, the drone teams wreak havoc upon Russian supply lines. Drone operators destroyed several civilian vehicles pressed into frontline service and a boat on a trailer.
Video: 40th Separate Coastal Defense Brigade
Ukrainian Drones Threaten Russian Logistics
In a series of long situation reports on his Telegram channel “From Mariupol to the Carpathians,” Osvedomitell Alex made note of several complicating factors in the Kherson direction. He mentioned the increased reliance of Russian forces upon FPV systems as Mavic drones became increasingly hard to come by, increasingly more susceptible to Ukrainian electronic warfare countermeasures, and as mobile anti-drone groups saturated the Right bank of the Dnipro.
Screenshot: Osvedomitell Alex
Russian milblogger Osvedomitell Alex even confirmed the effectiveness of Ukrainian drone operators and remote-mining of the Russian rear, noting that Ukrainian drones deny road access in a 15-30 km zone around the major settlements of Hola Prystan and Oleshky. Read more about the specifications of the variety of night bomber “Baba Yagas” which Ukraine employs toward the end of this article.
Photo: Ukraine Daily Update Map
Interestingly, in looking at a timeline of civilian casualties, it does seem that as Mavics have reportedly dropped in use and effectiveness, so have civilian casualties evened out. August, September, and October were notably bad, while November, December, and January have shown less frequent high-casualty days. November, December and January all began with major spikes, but levelled off as each month progressed. See the “Tracking Russian Terror” segment at the end of the article to learn more about civilian casualty trends.
In line with his typical rhetoric, Alex claims that Ukrainian civilians are really soldiers who are working shifts in the mobile anti-drone group to continue to justify the Human Safari.
The topics of crossing the Dnipro and the battle for the islands are also discussed briefly by Alex. He concludes that such an operation would be a dubious undertaking at best. I will talk more about this next week. I know I have been teasing this subject on social media for a few weeks, but I am seeking more solid sources from the Soviet crossing of the Dnipro near Kherson in March 1944.
Terror From the Left Bank
This week saw a drop in published and geolocated drone strikes coming from the typical sources like Osvedomitell Alex, 104th VDV Division, 61st Naval Infantry Brigade, etc. However, Vandal drones were seen working under, above, along, around, and behind the Antonivskyi bridge. Additionally, several airstrikes were geolocated around the bridge this week.
#1
01.20.2025
The 81st Volunteer Spetsnaz Brigade “Bear” has shown their face in Kherson. This unit is infamous for its participation as part of the Wagner Group’s Afrika Korps and their operations in Burkina Faso. The Bears appearing near the Antonivskyi Bridge suggests the Russians maybe shifting international assets in the wake of the disaster in Syria and the mounting political pressure for increased battlefield gains as the prospect of some kind of “negotiation” looms in the future.
Video: The Bears Brigade
Geolocation by Andrew Perpetua on Ukraine Daily Update Map
#2
01.23.2025
Airstrikes on the area surrounding the Antonivskyi Bridge.
Video: Osvedomitell Alex
Geolocation Andrew Perpetua by on Ukraine Daily Update Map
#3
01.23.2025
Airstrikes on the area surrounding the Antonivskyi Bridge.
Video: Osvedomitell Alex
Geolocation by on Ukraine Daily Update Map
Clearing the Skies
Photo: Ukraine Daily Update Map
This week’s “Clearing Skies” segment is again brought to us by the combined efforts of Come Back Alive and Fritt Ukraina. In two videos released this week by Dronopad, two ZALA and two Supercam reconnaissance drones were taken down over Kherson Oblast. Two ZALA were shot down over the islands south-southwest of Kherson and the two Supercam were liquidated over the low-lying plain near the village of Rozlyv, between Tomyna Balka and Bilozerka.
#1
01.24.2025 (0:19, ZALA)
Video:
Geolocation by artempdko on Ukraine Daily Update Map
#2
01.24.2025 (0:26, ZALA)
Video:
Geolocation by artempdko on Ukraine Daily Update Map
#3
01.24.2025 (0:22, Supercam)
Video:
Geolocation by artempdko on Ukraine Daily Update Map
#4
01.24.2025 (0:30, Supercam)
Video:
Geolocation by artempdko on Ukraine Daily Update Map
Do Russians Know What A Baba Yaga Even Is? No.
Since November, Russian forces in the Kherson direction have been posting occasional footage of Russian infantry shooting down bomber drones or FPV drones intercepting them. After Ukraine began increasingly employing these drones to counter Russian forces storming the islands and to halt the Human Safari, Russian milbloggers like Osvedomitell Alex and collaborationist propagandists like Zdorovyi Kherson have been celebratorily posting videos of hexacopters and quadcopters being shot down. Each one, despite their obvious visual differences was labelled as “Baba Yaga” and frothed over by their rabid audiences.
So then what the hell is a “Baba Yaga” drone?
It would seem as far as biology is concerned the Baba Yaga finds itself in common company with the misnomers of the world, such as prairie dogs, guinea pigs, red pandas, sea lions, and koala bears. In that, none of those creatures are actually any of what their names would suggest. Similarly, the misnomer “Baba Yaga” has emerged as a sort of catch-all thrown out by Russian forces to describe a number of Ukrainian heavy night bomber drones, like Vampire, Nemesis, HeavyShot, and Kazhan.
In Western media, not much effort has been made to clearly present the varieties and capabilities of Ukrainian heavy night bomber drones. I must admit my own confusion as to what exactly made each model of “Baba Yaga” unique, as Western or English-language coverage sometimes presents contradictory details or mislabelled photos. Therefore, this will be by no means a comprehensive review of all models of bomber drones, but I’m hoping to create a small guide to help distinguish these four more common platforms from one another.
*Note: I will discuss the unique UI for each drone model in a later edition, but for now I want to focus on their outward appearance.
#1
Vampire
Photos: Voin DV; Voin DV; Voin DV
Heavy Bomber Hexacopter
Identifiable Features:
Six rotors
Landing gear: two pairs of angled legs conjoined by perpendicularly attached feet
Payload: 15kg
Speed: 80 km/h
Range: 10km
A segment from the ZSU’s official news outlet, Armia TV, on the deployment of Vampire hexacopters with a group of pilots executing training on the platform:
Video: Armia TV
A hexacopter drone was shot down by Russian infantry on 17 January 2025.
Video: Osvedomitell Alex
#2
Nemesis: Starlink Drone
Photos: Voin DV; Sudoplatov; Sudoplatov; Sudoplatov; Voin DV; Voin DV; Voin DV
Heavy Bomber Quadcopter
Identifiable Features:
Four rotors
Rectangular Starlink attached to the top of the body
Landing gear: four individual legs with a slight curve in toward the body, attaching at the bottom of the drone’s body; some do appear to have two pairs of angled legs conjoined by perpendicularly attached feet as well
Body is a large rectangle that is usually taller than it is wide with a Starlink terminal attached on top
Payload: 10-15kg
Speed: ? km/h
Range: 20+ km
A video from the 46th Airmobile Brigade explaining the functionality of Nemesis’ extended range, lithium power supply, payload, and combat effectiveness:
Video: 46th Separate Airmobile Brigade
A quadcopter with conjoined landing gear and Starlink system on the chassis is shot down by a Russian drone on 28 December 2024.
Video: Osvedomitell Alex; Zdorovyi Kherson
A quadcopter with conjoined landing gear and Starlink system on the chassis is shot down by a Russian drone on 29 December 2024.
Video: Osvedomitell Alex
#3
HeavyShot: Flying Tank
Photos: Oleksandr Prokudin; Voin DV
Heavy Bomber Quadcopter
Identifiable Features:
Four rotors
Landing gear: four straight legs attached to the rotor arms of the drone frame at a slight angle
Wide square body that inhabits most of the frame
Payload: 20-30 kg
Speed: ? km/h
Range: 15km
A video explaining the characteristics and effectiveness of the HeavyShot drone in Vovchansk, Kharkiv Oblast:
Video: Eastern Operational Territorial Formation
A quadcopter with four free-standing landing gear and anti-EW enhancement on top shot down by Russian drone on 11 January 2025
Video: Osvedomitell Alex
#4
Kazhan: Aerial Artillery
Photos: Voin DV; 71st Separate Jaeger Brigade
Heavy Bomber Quadcopter (one hexacopter model E620)
Identifiable Features:
Four rotors (usually)
Landing gear: two pairs of angled legs conjoined by perpendicularly attached feet
Body is more hexagonal than square; space between the legs filled by ammunition storage and dropping apparatus
Payload: 20 kg
Speed: 120 km/h
Range: 40 km
A video report from ICTV on the employment of Kazhan “artillery” drones:
Video: Fakty ICTV
Below, a quadcopter with conjoined landing gear flies by a Russian drone on 02 November 2024.
Video: Osvedomitell Alex
Tracking Russian Terror
Data: Kherson ODA; National Police; Kherson Oblast Prosecutor’s Office; Oleksandr Prokudin
Situation Report
This week saw a relative lull in the Russian Human Safari with combined drone and shelling casualties falling just shy of 40 individuals. Luckily, not a single day saw a casualty total in the double-digits, as 21 January saw the weekly high of 9 victims from Russian shelling and drone strikes. Casualty totals this week were driven mostly by two days of drone activity focusing specifically on Antonivka on 21 January and 24 January. As a result, a 56-year-old man was killed and injured a 44-year-old woman, 52-year-old man, 53-year-old man, and 78-year-old man on 21 January. The drone attacks on 24 January resulted in eight victims sustaining injuries in Antonivka, Kherson, and the neighboring suburbs of Kindiyka and Tekstilne.
Additionally, the Kherson ODA shared statistics regarding civilian casualties from remote mining and unexploded ordnance. There is some overlap between my casualty count and this one, as I include victims of drone remote-mining as drone casualties. To avoid inflating casualty figures, do not add these numbers to mine.
Since the deoccupation of the Kherson region, 164 people have been injured by explosive devices, 63 of whom died. Since the beginning of 2025, 9 people have been injured, two of whom died.
Since tracking began on 21 June 2024, 10 medical volunteers & personnel, firefighters, and police officers have been killed and 79 more have been wounded by Russian attacks. One 49-year-old rescuer from the State Emergency Service was injured this week by Russian shelling in Korabelnyi Raion on 22 January, according to the National Police.
Data: Kherson ODA; National Police; Kherson Oblast Prosecutor’s Office; Oleksandr Prokudin
So far in January, Russian forces have maimed or murdered 184 Ukrainian non-combatants: 20 people have been killed and another 164 civilians have been wounded by Russian attacks. Of those victims, Russian drone attacks have killed 14 and wounded 107 civilians, while shelling has killed 6 and wounded 57 civilians.
As of 24 January 2025, 1654 civilians have been killed or wounded by Russian aggression since 21 June 2024, in Kherson Raion. 79 civilians have been killed by shelling, while 647 have been wounded. Another 71 civilians have been killed by drones, while 853 civilians have been injured (a total of 924 drone casualties).
Weekly Civilian Victims of Russian Aggression
Shelling:
Killed: 1
Wounded: 15 (plus a 45-year-old man from Antonivka injured by Russian shelling on 16 January)
Drones:
Killed: 1
Wounded: 20 (plus a 49-year-old man from Dniprovskyi Raion injured by a Russian drone attack on 17 January)
Total: 37 (plus the two aforementioned civilians injured last week, who sought medical care this week)
Data: National Police
Weekly Buildings & Infrastructure Report
Photo: Kherson Police
Private Homes & Apartments: 67
Infrastructure: 13
Data: National Police
Weekly Damaged Vehicle Report
Photo: National Police
Public Transportation: 1
Trucks & Utility Vehicles: 3
Civilian Automobiles: 14
Motor Scooters: 0
Police, Fire & EMS: 1
Data: National Police
Sources
Ukrainian Sources
40 окрема бригада берегової оборони (40 ОБрБО). (n.d.). Telegram. https://t.me/official40obrbo/62
71 окрема єгерська бригада ДШВ ЗС України. (n.d.). Telegram. https://t.me/immitis71/763
Армія TV – Військове телебачення України. (2024, April 17). РОСІЯНИ БОЯТЬСЯ УКРАЇНСЬКУ «БАБУ ЯГУ»: як працює потужний дрон для знищення ворога Vampire [Video]. YouTube.
Десантно-штурмові війська ЗС України. (2025, January 10). Приборкувачі «Баби Яги» смалять реальних негідників [Video]. YouTube.
ДРОНОПАД. (2025, January 24). Підрозділ ППО знищив п’ять ZALA ворога 🚀 [Video]. YouTube.
ДРОНОПАД. (2025, January 24). 💪 Мінус 3 Supercam – підрозділ ППО продовжує полювання на дрони [Video]. YouTube.
Факти ICTV. (2023, March 23). ОКУПАНТИ бояться його СИЛИ! Як працює український ДРОН КАЖАН [Video]. YouTube.
Kitsoft. (n.d.). Національна поліція України. https://www.npu.gov.ua/news/na-khersonshchyni-cherez-rosiiski-obstrily-troie-liudei-zahynulo-ta-dvoie-poraneni-pravookhorontsi-dokumentuiut-naslidky-vorozhykh-atak
Kitsoft. (n.d.). Національна поліція України. https://www.npu.gov.ua/news/na-pravoberezhzhi-khersonshchyny-politsiia-zafiksuvala-deviat-voiennykh-zlochyniv-armii-rf-proty-tsyvilnoho-naselennia
Kitsoft. (n.d.). Національна поліція України. https://www.npu.gov.ua/news/na-khersonshchyni-vnaslidok-rosiiskoi-ahresii-postrazhdaly-shestero-liudei-politsiia-fiksuie-naslidky-atak-na-zhytlovi-kvartaly-i-transportni-zasoby
Kitsoft. (n.d.). Національна поліція України. https://www.npu.gov.ua/news/politsiia-khersonshchyny-dokumentuie-naslidky-cherhovykh-rosiiskykh-atak-odna-liudyna-zahynula-ta-piat-poraneno-poshkodzheno-budynky-i-avtotransport
Kitsoft. (n.d.). Національна поліція України. https://www.npu.gov.ua/news/na-khersonshchyni-vnaslidok-rosiiskoi-ahresii-poraneno-shistokh-liudei-sered-postrazhdalykh-riatuvalnyk
Kitsoft. (n.d.). Національна поліція України. https://www.npu.gov.ua/news/okupanty-vdaryly-po-khersonshchyni-poraneni-dvi-liudyny-ta-poshkodzheno-10-zhytlovykh-budynkiv
Kitsoft. (n.d.). Національна поліція України. https://www.npu.gov.ua/news/na-khersonshchyni-vnaslidok-rosiiskykh-atak-poraneni-chetvero-liudei-politsiia-fiksuie-naslidky
Мінцифра. (n.d.). Telegram. https://t.me/mintsyfra/4688
Поліція Херсонської області. (n.d.). Telegram. https://t.me/khersonpolice/14100
Прокудін Олександр - Офіційна сторінка. (n.d.). Telegram. https://t.me/olexandrprokudin/5331
Східне оперативно-територіальне об’єднання НГУ. (2024, November 25). Heavy Shot у Вовчанську. Ворогу нема де сховатись. . . [Video]. YouTube.
🇺🇦Херcонська ОДА (ОВА). (n.d.). Telegram. https://t.me/khersonskaODA/30470
Russian Sources
Воин DV. (n.d.). Telegram. https://t.me/voin_dv/4706
Воин DV. (n.d.). Telegram. https://t.me/voin_dv/6921
Воин DV. (n.d.). Telegram. https://t.me/voin_dv/8222
Воин DV. (n.d.). Telegram. https://t.me/voin_dv/9050
Воин DV. (n.d.). Telegram. https://t.me/voin_dv/9053
Воин DV. (n.d.). Telegram. https://t.me/voin_dv/9125
Воин DV. (n.d.). Telegram. https://t.me/voin_dv/9656
Воин DV. (n.d.). Telegram. https://t.me/voin_dv/10189
Воин DV. (n.d.). Telegram. https://t.me/voin_dv/10407
“МЕДВЕДИ” БРИГАДА🇷🇺. (n.d.). Telegram. https://t.me/OBRSPNBears/869
От Мариуполя до Карпат. (n.d.). Telegram. https://t.me/osvedomitell_alex/22008
От Мариуполя до Карпат. (n.d.). Telegram. https://t.me/osvedomitell_alex/23345
От Мариуполя до Карпат. (n.d.). Telegram. https://t.me/osvedomitell_alex/23355
От Мариуполя до Карпат. (n.d.). Telegram. https://t.me/osvedomitell_alex/23651
От Мариуполя до Карпат. (n.d.). Telegram. https://t.me/osvedomitell_alex/23738
От Мариуполя до Карпат. (n.d.). Telegram. https://t.me/osvedomitell_alex/23748
От Мариуполя до Карпат. (n.d.). Telegram. https://t.me/osvedomitell_alex/23749
От Мариуполя до Карпат. (n.d.). Telegram. https://t.me/osvedomitell_alex/23845
От Мариуполя до Карпат. (n.d.). Telegram. https://t.me/osvedomitell_alex/23846
От Мариуполя до Карпат. (n.d.). Telegram. https://t.me/osvedomitell_alex/23896
От Мариуполя до Карпат. (n.d.). Telegram. https://t.me/osvedomitell_alex/23897
Судоплатов. (n.d.). Telegram. https://t.me/sudoplatov_official/1402
Судоплатов. (n.d.). Telegram. https://t.me/sudoplatov_official/1458
Судоплатов. (n.d.). Telegram. https://t.me/sudoplatov_official/1523
Херсон ЗХ. (n.d.). Telegram. https://t.me/zdrxerson/24053
English Sources
UA map. (n.d.). https://map.ukrdailyupdate.com/?lat=46.686896&lng=32.703552&z=13&d=20101&c=1&l=0
UA map. (n.d.). https://map.ukrdailyupdate.com/?lat=46.674766&lng=32.720156&z=14&d=20108&c=1&l=0
UA map. (n.d.). https://map.ukrdailyupdate.com/?lat=46.607469&lng=32.452575&z=11&d=20112&c=1&l=0
UA map. (n.d.). https://map.ukrdailyupdate.com/?lat=46.591900&lng=32.576690&z=10&d=20112&c=1&l=0
Great update. I'm going to need to go back and reread it in greater detail.