President Vladimir Putin on Friday condemned a Ukrainian strike on a student dormitory in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region that reportedly killed 10 people and injured dozens more.
Putin claimed the attack targeted civilians and said there were no military facilities in the area — contradicting Ukraine’s assertion that the strike hit the headquarters of a military unit near the occupied town.
“I have to begin with the tragic events you may have heard about in the Lugansk People’s Republic,” Putin said, according to TASS.
“Last night, the neo-Nazi regime that seized power in Kiev carried out a terrorist attack on a student dormitory of the Starobilsk Pedagogical College, while students were sleeping,” he added.
Officials said there were 86 children aged 14 to 18 when the strike occurred.
Russian-installed governor Leonid Pasechnik shared images on the MAX messaging app showing what appeared to be a college building in Starobilsk with its windows blown out, with flames visible inside one of the rooms.
Moscow vows punishment
Following the attack in Starobilsk, Russia has requested an extraordinary meeting of the United Nations Security Council, accusing Kyiv of being responsible for escalating hostilities.
The Foreign Ministry also issued a statement pledging to punish those it holds responsible for the strike, stressing that they “will face inevitable and severe punishment.”
It added that there would be no leniency for anyone involved in the attack, while also calling on “international structures, national governments, and the world community to give an honest assessment to the Zelensky regime’s criminal actions and strongly condemn the bloody terror attack on Starobilsk.”
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Ukraine accuses Russia
Ukraine, meanwhile, rejected Russia’s accusation of targeting civilians and said Moscow was spreading misinformation about the incident.
In a statement, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said its forces carried out strikes on military infrastructure and facilities used for military purposes, stressing strict compliance with international humanitarian law.
“We would like to inform you that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are striking military infrastructure and facilities used for military purposes, strictly adhering to the norms of international humanitarian law, the laws and customs of war,” the statement reads.
The General Staff also said Ukrainian forces struck several Russian targets overnight, “including an oil refinery, ammunition depots, air defense systems, command posts, and enemy personnel, specifically one of the headquarters of the ‘Rubicon’ unit near Starobilsk.”
It added that “Rubicon” is a Russian military special unit known as the “Center for Advanced Unmanned Technologies,” which it accused of regularly carrying out attacks on civilian populations and infrastructure in Ukraine.
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