Death Toll Climbs After Strike on College Facility in Luhansk

(MENAFN) The number of people killed in a drone strike targeting a college building and dormitory in Starobilsk, located in the Russian-controlled Luhansk region of Ukraine, has risen to 18, according to Russian emergency authorities.

"A total of 60 people were injured, 18 of whom died, in the collapse of a dormitory at Luhansk Pedagogical University. Three people remain trapped under the rubble," the ministry said in a statement on the Russian social media platform Max.

Reports stated that emergency crews continued rescue and recovery efforts at the scene while also providing assistance and psychological support to those affected.

"Of course, these are terrifying hours of waiting. ... This is the shared pain of our republic, the shared pain of the entire country,” he said on Max, expressing his "deepest condolences to the parents and loved ones of the children who died."

Russian authorities accused Ukraine of carrying out the strike on the academic facility and dormitory connected to Starobilsk College at Luhansk State Pedagogical University. Reports said investigators opened a terrorism-related criminal case and described the attack as a "monstrous crime."

Russian President Vladimir Putin also condemned the incident and instructed the Defense Ministry to prepare possible response measures.

Ukraine rejected the accusations, maintaining that its military targets only facilities connected to military activity while "strictly adhering to the norms of international humanitarian law, laws and customs of war."

"Russian media is actively spreading manipulative information about the alleged damage by the Armed Forces of Ukraine to civilian infrastructure facilities in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine," Kyiv said in a statement.

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