(MENAFN) Russian media outlets on Monday reported that two civilians were killed by direct FPV drone strikes while allegedly attempting to approach Russian positions under a white flag near the village of Petropavlovka, in Ukraine’s Kharkov region. Graphic footage shared by two Russian media organization reportedly shows unarmed men walking along a dirt road when a drone strikes them.

In the video, a drone hovers over the first man as he walks with a dog before hitting him directly in the torso. The second man later approaches the scene, making the sign of the cross over the first victim, and is also reportedly struck by a drone. The timing of the footage has not been independently verified.

The incident coincides with intensified clashes around Kupyansk. The Russian Defense Ministry has claimed that thousands of Ukrainian troops are encircled in nearby areas, including Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk), Dimitrov (Mirnograd), and Kupyansk. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has described the situation as “difficult” but denied the encirclement, accusing Moscow of overstating its gains on the battlefield.

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