Russian President, Vladimir Putin, has pledged a response following accusations that Ukraine conducted a lethal strike on a student dormitory in the occupied region of eastern Ukraine.
According to the President, the overnight assault in Starobilsk, located in the Luhansk region, resulted in six fatalities and left 39 individuals injured, with an additional 15 reported missing.
In contrast, Ukraine’s military claimed responsibility for targeting the headquarters of Russia’s elite Rubicon drone unit in Starobilsk.
However, they did not confirm if it was the same facility identified by Russian authorities.
”There are no military or intelligence service installations nearby,” Putin asserted during a reception at his Kremlin residence on Friday.
He instructed the Russian military to prepare plans for retaliation, stating that the Ukrainian attack involved three waves utilizing 16 drones.
State-run Russian media showcased one of the injured students, a 19-year-old named Diana Shovkun, who suffered head injuries from falling debris.
No images or footage of those allegedly killed were presented.
Later that day, Ukraine’s military reiterated that its strike aimed at Rubicon’s headquarters and accused the drone unit of consistently targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure within Ukraine.
The statement emphasized that Ukrainian forces are inflicting damage on military targets while adhering strictly to international humanitarian law and warfare regulations.
On Thursday, Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, reported that the headquarters of Russia’s FSB security service was struck in the Moscow-controlled area of Ukraine’s southern Kherson region, resulting in approximately 100 Russian casualties, either dead or wounded.
Moscow’s military has yet to respond to these claims. However, a pro-Kremlin Telegram channel mentioned “casualties” following what it described as a “massive drone strike.”
Since the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine has consistently accused Russian forces of intentionally targeting civilians, a claim that Moscow routinely denies.
Last week, Ukrainian officials reported that 24 people, including three young girls, lost their lives when a Russian missile struck a residential high-rise building in Kyiv.
By: Magdalene Agyeiwaa Sarpong