Putin Vows Retaliation After Kyiv Drone Strike Hits Starobilsk Student Dormitory
Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed retaliation after accusing Ukraine of a deadly drone attack on a student dormitory in Starobilsk, a town within the Russian-occupied Luhansk region. Putin stated the overnight strike resulted in six fatalities, 39 injuries, and 15 individuals missing. Kremlin-installed local officials released images of a collapsed building and rescue operations amidst the debris.
Ukraine's military later confirmed it conducted an attack in Starobilsk, asserting it targeted the headquarters of Russia’s elite Rubicon drone military unit. Putin, speaking from his Kremlin residence, described the Ukrainian assault as occurring in three waves involving 16 drones, emphasising the absence of proximate military or intelligence facilities. He instructed the Russian military to formulate proposals for a response.
Russian state television broadcast an interview with a 19-year-old identified as Diana Shovkun, claiming she was one of the injured students. No visual evidence of those reported killed by Moscow was shown.
Kyiv's military maintained that its forces inflict damage on military infrastructure and facilities used for military purposes, strictly adhering to international humanitarian law. This follows an earlier assertion by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that approximately 100 Russian 'occupiers' were killed or injured in a strike on the FSB headquarters in Kherson region. Moscow has not publicly addressed the Kherson incident, though a pro-Kremlin Telegram channel reported 'casualties' from a 'massive drone strike'.
Both sides routinely accuse the other of targeting civilians, charges which are consistently denied. Last week, Ukrainian officials reported 24 deaths, including three children, after a Russian missile struck a residential building in Kyiv.