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Russian authorities have sharply condemned a Ukrainian drone strike on a college dormitory in Starobelsk, a city in the Lugansk People’s Republic, that killed 21 people, describing it as a deliberate and pre-planned act of terrorism. The attack, which occurred in the early hours of May 22, also drew comparisons to Nazi tactics during World War II from a senior Kremlin aide.Coverage from Russian state media
All information about the incident in this article comes from reports by the Russian state news agency TASS, which covered the attack, official reactions, and preliminary casualty figures. No information from Ukrainian sources or independent verification was available.Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu said the strike was not a coincidence but a targeted terrorist attack, noting that the same location had been hit multiple times. Speaking after a meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) security council secretaries, Shoigu said, “If anyone says that it was a coincidence – such coincidences cannot happen in modern warfare.” He also stated that without satellite support, weapons could not achieve such precision, adding, “In other words, it wasn’t a coincidence. I can only describe it as a terrorist attack.”
Presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky also commented on the attack via his Telegram channel. He drew a parallel to the actions of Nazi forces during the Great Patriotic War, saying, “Only the Nazis deliberately targeted schools, colleges, pioneer camps, and children during the Great Patriotic War.” Medinsky characterized the strike as hitting a historic educational institution and lamented the potential consequences, warning that Russians are often “kind-hearted and forgiving” but that the attack and reactions from some UN representatives should make people consider what would happen if “they win.”
The Russian Investigative Committee provided technical details of the attack. Spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said the Ukrainian military used four fixed-wing drones to strike the administrative buildings and dormitory of the Starobelsk college. According to the committee, 86 students and one staff member were present in the dormitory at the time. The five-story building collapsed down to the second floor, with several people believed to be trapped under the rubble.