Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered retaliation after a Ukrainian drone attack killed six and injured 39 at a vocational school in occupied Starobilsk. Russia, which requested a UN Security Council meeting, calls the attack a "monstrous crime," stating 16 drones hit a civilian dorm. Ukraine's military denies this, claiming it targeted the headquarters of Russia's elite Rubicon drone unit in the area.
Starobilsk dormitory attack
- ▪The targeted hostel belonged to Luhansk Pedagogical University's Starobilsk college, and the top three of its five floors were destroyed
- ▪An overnight drone attack on May 22, 2026, struck a vocational school and student dormitory in Starobilsk, a Russian-controlled city in Ukraine's Luhansk region
- ▪According to Russian human rights commissioner Yana Lantratova, 86 teenagers aged 14 to 18 were inside the hostel during the attack
- ▪Russian President Vladimir Putin said the attack was carried out in three waves using 16 drones
Putin retaliation order
- ▪Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his military to prepare proposals for how to retaliate against Ukraine for the attack
- ▪President Vladimir Putin asserted there were no military facilities in the vicinity of the dormitory
Casualty figures
- ▪The attack killed six people and injured at least 39
- ▪Following the strike, 15 people were reported missing
Rescue operations
- ▪Russia's children's rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, said up to 18 children could still be trapped in the rubble
- ▪The Russian-installed head of Luhansk, Leonid Pasechnik, said two people had been pulled from the rubble
- ▪Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry conducted search operations in the rubble of the destroyed building
Ukraine denial of targeting
- ▪Ukraine's military stated its forces adhere to the norms of international humanitarian law
- ▪The Ukrainian military accused the Rubicon drone unit of regularly striking civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine
- ▪Ukraine's military stated its strike targeted the headquarters of Russia's elite Rubicon drone military unit in Starobilsk
Russian diplomatic response
- ▪Russia's Investigative Committee opened a criminal probe into terrorism following the attack
- ▪Russia requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the incident
- ▪Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the attack as a "monstrous crime."
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