Death Toll From Luhansk Dormitory Attack Rises to 18

The death toll from a drone attack on a student dormitory in the Russian-controlled Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine has risen to 18, Russian officials said following a heated debate about the incident at the United Nations. Three people remain trapped under the rubble, according to Russia's RIA news agency.

President Vladimir Putin on Friday ordered the military to prepare options for retaliation against Ukraine after Moscow accused Kyiv of a deliberate drone strike on a training college in the city of Starobilsk.

The Ukrainian military denied responsibility for the attack, saying it had struck an elite drone command unit in the area and that its forces were complying with international humanitarian law. Putin said there were no military installations in the area.

Leonid Pasechnik, the head of the Russian-installed administration in the region, released a preliminary list of 21 casualties, mostly women, with the youngest aged 18. He also published a list of 41 wounded, the youngest of whom was 15 years old.

A local resident said missiles had hit a former base before drones subsequently struck the dormitory, causing fires.

(reuters, luc)