The number of people killed in a Ukrainian strike on a college building in the Russian-controlled town of Starobilsk in eastern Ukraine has increased to 10, according to Moscow-backed officials in the occupied Lugansk region.
Image: The Peninsula Qatar
Leonid Pasechnik, the Russian-installed governor of the region, said 38 people were injured in the attack, while 11 teenage students were still missing. Rescue teams continued searching through the debris overnight after the strike damaged a college dormitory between Thursday and Friday.
In a statement shared on Telegram, Leonid Pasechnik said hopes of finding more survivors were fading as rescue workers cleared the rubble in Starobilsk.
Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the drone attack and instructed the Russian military to prepare a response.
Ukraine denied deliberately targeting civilians and stated that the strike was aimed at a Russian drone unit allegedly operating in the Starobilsk area.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry warned that those responsible for the attack would face what it called “inevitable and severe punishment.”
Ukraine has frequently carried out drone strikes in Russian-occupied territories, saying the attacks are retaliation for continued Russian assaults on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.
Starobilsk is located around 65 kilometres from the frontline in eastern Ukraine. Russian forces took control of the town in 2022 during the early stages of the full-scale invasion.
Most of the Lugansk region remains under Russian occupation, with Moscow continuing to claim the territory as part of Russia.
