Forensic experts sift through drone hit dormitory
Forensic experts examined the remains of a dormitory in Ukraine’s Luhansk region that was largely destroyed by a Ukrainian drone strike and was captured and placed under Russian control in four years of war, Russian officials said.
Authorities said search operations were completed late Saturday and the death toll in the strike at the teacher training college was 21, most of them young women.
The facade of the building was split open due to large holes and broken windows.
Heaps of twisted metal and concrete lay outside the building, and dilapidated desks and cabinets were piled inside, overlooking what was once a courtyard.
While employees of Russia’s Investigative Committee were compiling data on the incident on Friday, a worker in a protective suit examined pieces of metal and other debris laid on tarpaulins.
Reuters reported on a media tour organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation from Starobilsk on Saturday.
The Ukrainian military denied responsibility for the attack, saying it hit an elite drone command unit in the region and that its forces complied with international humanitarian law.
Reuters could not independently confirm what happened.
“Three waves of UAVs (drones) 10-15 minutes apart,” Russia’s Human Rights Commissioner Yana Lantrova told reporters outside the ruined building.
“16 UAVs in total. They waited for the children to come out. They shot directly at the children.”
The facility in the east of Ukraine’s Luhansk region, which was annexed by Russia several months after the Kremlin invaded its smaller neighbor in February 2022, is decorated with official Russian state symbols.
A set of instructions on how to act against the “terrorist threat” was posted on a wall.
Following the attack, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed his army to prepare retaliatory options against Ukraine.
Early Sunday, in just over 24 hours, Russia hit Kiev and surrounding areas with hundreds of drones and missiles, carrying out one of the heaviest bombardments of the city since the start of the war.
The overnight barrage killed four people and was marked by the firing of a Russian Oreshnik hypersonic missile south of Kiev.
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