Man sprints for his life as Russian drone obliterates a children's playground in Kyiv's Bucha district

From the Newshound archive · first published 10 October 2026.

A man walking through Sviatopetrivske in Kyiv's Bucha district narrowly escaped death on Thursday after spotting an incoming Russian jet-powered Shahed drone and sprinting to safety seconds before it destroyed a children's playground yards behind him. Video shows him glancing up from his phone, turning and running as the drone struck, throwing flames, smoke and debris skyward. Rescue workers rushed to a nearby nursery school and extinguished the blaze, with no casualties reported as others on site had been sheltering.

Russia has been deploying fast jet-powered drones in relentless daytime raids that Kyiv's air defences have found difficult to intercept.

Separately, a Ukrainian ground robot brought down an incoming Russian FPV attack drone by moving into its flight path.