Russian troops are deliberately destroying crops in the Kherson region: drones are dropping incendiary munitions from all sides of the fields so that the flames engulf as much area as possible and completely destroy the grain.
Viktor Gordienko, head of the Kherson Region Farmers’ Association, announced this on, as reported by Dengi.ua.
How Russian Troops Are Burning Fields in the Kherson Region
According to Viktor Gordienko, the occupiers are deliberately setting fields on fire, attacking them with incendiary munitions from several directions at once to cut off access routes for firefighters.
“They fly in from all sides and drop incendiary munitions, deliberately setting the fields on fire. That’s exactly what they did to my fields… so that the fire would cover as large an area as possible,” he said.
The Beryslav district and the Tyagyn community are suffering the most from this campaign of terror. Due to the constant threat of repeated airstrikes and the heavy mining of the areas, State Emergency Service rescuers are physically unable to reach the fire sites safely and quickly, and the fire spreads across the dry grain stalks in a matter of minutes.
Why Farmers Can’t Put Out the Fires
Farmers are forced to try to contain the flames literally with their bare hands and whatever tools they have on hand, while enemy FPV drones continue to circle directly overhead. The occupiers are cynically targeting people and farm equipment with drones, preventing them from saving the harvest.
“Last night, they nearly killed my farmhand… Right now, he’s leaving the village because he can no longer live and work under the constant threat of death,” Gordienko noted bitterly.
How much of the crop has already been destroyed by fire
Viktor Gordienko’s farm alone has suffered colossal losses - about 1,700 hectares of fields planted with wheat. Overall, according to preliminary estimates, about 2,000 hectares of crops have already been destroyed by fire in the Kherson region.
As the farmer explains, the Russians are deliberately burning fields and forest belts. On the one hand, they are trying to deprive the Ukrainian military of natural cover; on the other, they are trying to leave local farmers without any profit or means of subsistence.
“They have one goal - to burn absolutely everything. To destroy the grain, destroy the harvest, and turn the fertile Ukrainian land into a vast wasteland. This is a deliberate act of terror against Ukrainian farmers, our people, and our land,” Gordienko emphasized.