Russian authorities said that a nighttime drone attack on a student residence in the Russian-controlled Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine resulted in at least four fatalities and left 35 children wounded.
Officials reported the strike struck a hostel attached to Luhansk Pedagogical University’s Starobilsk college. Yana Lantratova, Russia’s Human Rights Commissioner, said that 86 teenagers between the ages of 14 and 18 had been asleep inside the hostel when the drones hit during the night. Leonid Pasechnik, the top Russian-installed official in Luhansk, said rescue teams had pulled two people from the rubble and that workers continued to search for children believed to be trapped beneath debris.
Reuters was not able to independently verify the Russian account of events. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine on Friday. The Ukrainian government has said it seeks to recapture Luhansk, one of four eastern regions Moscow unilaterally declared part of Russia in 2022, a move Kyiv called an illegal land grab. Both Moscow and Kyiv deny deliberately targeting civilians.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the incident as a criminal act and demanded punishment for those responsible. Peskov told reporters: "This is a monstrous crime. An attack on an educational institution where children and young people are present." He added: "The most important thing now is to take measures to clear the rubble and provide assistance to those who are still trapped beneath it."
Russian authorities published photographs and video showing rescue personnel carrying a stretcher with one man removed from the rubble, buildings suffering severe damage, including one structure that appeared to have partially collapsed, and fires that were still burning at the scene.
The incident followed public remarks by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy last week, when he promised retribution after placing red roses at the site of a Kyiv apartment building destroyed by a Russian missile strike that killed 24 people, including three children.
Contextual note
Reporting on the incident remains dependent on statements and visual material released by Russian authorities; independent confirmation has not been obtained, and Ukraine had not issued an immediate response at the time of these reports.
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