Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised a response after accusing Ukraine of carrying out a deadly overnight strike on a student dormitory in the Russian-occupied town of Starobilsk, in eastern Ukraine’s Luhansk region.
Putin said six people were killed and 39 others injured in the attack. He also said 15 people were still missing after the strike.
Speaking at a reception at the Kremlin in Moscow, Putin claimed there were no military or intelligence facilities near the building that was hit. He rejected suggestions that the damage may have been caused by Russian air defence or electronic warfare systems.
According to Putin, the attack was carried out in three waves using 16 drones. He said he had ordered Russia’s military to prepare proposals for retaliation.
Ukraine Says It Targeted Russian Drone Unit
Ukraine’s military said it had struck the headquarters of Russia’s elite Rubicon drone unit in Starobilsk. However, Kyiv did not confirm whether the target was the same building that Moscow described as a student dormitory.
Ukraine accused the Rubicon unit of regularly attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure. It said its forces were targeting military facilities and infrastructure used for military purposes, while following international humanitarian law and the rules of war.
The two sides have offered sharply different accounts of the attack, and the exact nature of the building hit has not been independently confirmed.
Russian State Media Shows Injured Student
Russian state television showed what it said was one of the injured students, identifying her as 19-year-old Diana Shovkun. The report said she had suffered head injuries after debris from the building fell during the strike.
However, Russian media did not show images or videos of those Moscow said were killed in the attack.
The strike has added to tensions between Moscow and Kyiv as both sides continue to accuse each other of targeting civilian areas during the war.
Drone Debris Sparks Fire at Russian Oil Depot
Early on Saturday, Russian officials also reported that two people were injured after falling drone debris caused a fire at an oil depot in Novorossiysk, a major Black Sea port in southern Russia.
Officials in the Krasnodar region said several technical and administrative buildings caught fire, while drone fragments also landed near a fuel terminal. The two injured people were taken to hospital, and no deaths were reported.
Authorities also said drones damaged private homes in the nearby port city of Anapa.
Ukraine Reports Strike on FSB Site in Kherson Region
The latest developments came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine had hit a headquarters of Russia’s FSB security service in a Moscow-controlled part of the southern Kherson region.
Zelensky claimed around 100 Russian personnel were killed or injured in that strike. Russia’s military has not officially commented on the claim, although a pro-Kremlin Telegram channel reported casualties after what it described as a large drone attack.
Civilian Deaths Remain Central Issue in the War
Ukraine has repeatedly accused Russia of deliberately attacking civilians since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in 2022. Russia has regularly denied those accusations.
Last week, Ukrainian officials said 24 people were killed, including three girls, when a Russian missile destroyed part of a high-rise residential building in Kyiv.
The latest accusations from both sides show how drone and missile attacks remain a major feature of the war. With Putin now promising retaliation, the fighting could intensify further as Russia and Ukraine continue targeting each other’s military and strategic sites.