Russia says 18 killed in strike on student dorm
The death toll in a drone attack on a student dormitory in the Russian-controlled Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine has risen to 18, with most of the victims being young women, Russian officials said, following a heated debate at the UN about the incident.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his military on Friday to prepare retaliatory options against Ukraine after Moscow accused Kiev of what it described as a deliberate drone attack on a university in the town of Starobilsk.
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.
Putin said there were no military facilities in the region. Reuters could not independently confirm what happened.
A crane was at the scene Saturday working to remove debris from a large gap in the building.
Inside a shattered classroom were student desks covered in bricks and dust, with “I love English” written on the walls. Elsewhere, a stairwell was blocked by debris.
Russia’s state news agency RIA reported that the death toll had risen to 18, citing the emergency ministry.
3 people were trapped under the debris.
Leonid Pasechnik, head of the Russian-established administration in the region, published a preliminary list containing details of 11 victims, most of whom were 19-year-old women.
A resident said rockets targeted an old base, then drones hit a student dormitory, causing a fire.
At the emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, held at the call of Russia on Friday, Russia accused Ukraine of committing war crimes regarding the incident.
Ukraine said this was an unfounded claim that had not been independently verified.
While many countries have called for access to the site, UN officials condemned all attacks on civilians and recalled Russia’s missile attack on a UN warehouse in Ukraine this week, which killed two workers and destroyed US$1 million ($1.4 million) worth of aid.
Thousands of Ukrainians have been killed in air strikes far from the largely static front line in the southeast of the country, about a fifth of which are controlled by Russian forces.
While Russia has targeted Ukraine’s energy resources and infrastructure, Ukraine has stepped up its attacks on oil facilities in Russia this year, sometimes leading to casualties. Both sides deny targeting civilians.
Debris falling from drones sparked a fire at an oil terminal in Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, injuring two people, Russian officials said early Saturday.
The Ukrainian military said Russia hit the Sheskharis Black Sea oil terminal in Novorossiysk and the nearby Grushova oil depot.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the army also hit a large chemical plant in Russia’s Perm region.
Perm regional governor Dmitry Makhonin said that an industrial facility, which he had not previously named, was targeted by Ukrainian drones, but it was hit and did not cause any damage.
