Drone Attack on Dormitory in Luhansk Region Kills 16

The death toll from a drone attack on a student dormitory in the Russian-controlled Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine has risen to 16, Russian state agencies reported, citing the ministry for emergency situations.

The attack took place in the city of Starobilsk. Russia has accused Ukraine of deliberately targeting a civilian structure, and President Vladimir Putin has ordered the military to prepare options for retaliation. Leonid Pasechnik, the head of the Russian-installed administration in the region, released a preliminary list of 11 casualties, most of them 19-year-old girls.

Nine people were reported to remain under the rubble, according to Russian media. The Ukrainian military denied responsibility, saying it had struck an elite unit of drone operators and had complied with international humanitarian law in the operation.

The Luhansk region is one of several areas Russia partially occupied following its invasion of Ukraine and subsequently declared part of its territory.

(reuters, lud)