Putin calls the attack in Starobelsk a terrorist act
Armed clashes in Ukraine have triggered a new wave of international political and military debates, as reported by Zamin.uz.
The strike on the pedagogical college building and student dormitory in the city of Starobelsk, Luhansk region, under Russian control, drew global attention. Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed Ukrainian armed forces for the incident, labeling it a terrorist act.
According to official data from Russia’s Ministry for Emergency Situations, the attack on the night of May 22 resulted in 21 fatalities and 42 injured of varying severity. Search and rescue operations at the site have been completed.
Officials emphasized that 86 minors aged between 14 and 18 were inside the building at the time of the strike. Putin stated in his address that the tragedy was not accidental but a deliberately planned action.
He claimed the attack was carried out in three stages, with 16 unmanned aerial vehicles directed at a single target. The Russian leader asserted that there were no military installations near the dormitory, and therefore the strikes could not be attributed to stray munitions.
The issue was also discussed at an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council. Russia’s permanent representative, Vasily Nebenzya, urged Western nations to condemn the attack.
He argued that such long-range strikes are being carried out using weapons and intelligence data supplied by NATO countries. However, the international community and several Western states—including the United Kingdom, Latvia, and Denmark—have expressed skepticism toward these claims.
They noted that reports from Starobelsk may be unreliable, emphasized the lack of independent verification of information from active combat zones, and accused Russia of exploiting the situation to advance its own objectives.
