Russia: Ukraine hit dorm, 18 dead; Ukraine says it hit military target

by · UPI

May 23 (UPI) -- A Ukraine drone hit a Russian dormitory killing at least 18 overnight in Starobilsk in the Luhansk region, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday.

But Ukraine's military said it hit a military drone unit target.

There were 42 others injured, and three other people may be trapped under rubble, the BBC reported.

Putin called the attack a "terrorist strike," and said the hit was deliberate, Al Jazeera reported.

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Regional Governor Leonid Pasechnik said Ukrainian drones hit the five-story dormitory belonging to Luhansk Pedagogical University. The building then collapsed to its second floor.

The victims were between ages 14 and 18, and about 86 children and teachers were inside the building at the time, Russia has said.

"At the moment, it is known that six people were killed, 39 were wounded and 15 people are unaccounted for, as the search through the rubble is still ongoing," Putin said on Russian TV Friday. He then told the military to prepare for retaliation.

Ukraine's military said it had hit the headquarters of Russia's Rubicon drone military unit in Starobilsk, the BBC reported. It did not say if it was the same building as the one identified by Russia.

But Putin disputed that, saying that there were "no military facilities, intelligence service facilities or related services in the vicinity."

"Therefore, there is absolutely no basis for claiming that the munitions struck the building as a result of our air defense or electronic warfare systems," he said at a reception in his Kremlin residence in Moscow on Friday, the BBC reported. Putin said there were three waves of attacks with 16 drones.

At a United Nations Security Council emergency meeting called by Russia, Ukrainian ambassador to the U.N. Melnyk Andrii rejected accusations of war crimes, calling them a "pure propaganda show," The Guardian reported. He said the attacks "exclusively targeted the Russian war machine."

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