A Ukrainian drone hit a university campus with a dormitory in the city of Starobilsk, about 65 kilometers from the front line, in the early hours of Friday, according to Russian occupation authorities in Luhansk, as reported by Deutsche Welle. The Russian-installed governor of the occupied region, Leonid Pasechnik, said on Telegram that the death toll had risen to ten – most of the victims were 19-year-old girls. Thirty-eight people were wounded, and nine teenage students were initially listed as missing.
Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin condemned the drone attack and ordered the Russian military to prepare a response. The Russian state news agency RIA, citing the Emergency Situations Ministry, later reported twelve dead. The Ukrainian side dismissed the Russian figures as misleading but did not provide its own casualty numbers.
Starobilsk has been under Russian occupation since 2022, shortly after Moscow launched its full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine. The city lies in Luhansk, which Russia illegally annexed. Ukrainian forces regularly strike military and logistical targets in the occupied territories.
EuroPulse reported on May 21, 2026, about Putin’s meeting with Xi Jinping in Beijing, where the Chinese president emphasized the close partnership while a pipeline dispute remained unresolved: Putin in Beijing: Xi stresses close partnership, pipeline dispute remains.
Source: www.dw.com
