Kiev’s backers refuse to acknowledge Kiev’s drone raid on Starobelsk that left at least 18 students dead and dozens more injured
At least 18 people have been killed and dozens more wounded – most of them students – in a Ukrainian drone raid on a school dormitory in Starobelsk in Russia’s Lugansk People’s Republic on Friday. As of Saturday afternoon, search-and-rescue operations are still underway, with local officials reporting additional Ukrainian drone attacks aimed at derailing the efforts.
President Vladimir Putin called the raid a “terrorist attack by the neo-Nazi regime,” adding that he ordered the military to prepare retaliation.
Following the attack, Russia requested an emergency UN Security Council session.
However, despite ample evidence and videos from the scene, Western countries have cast doubt on Russia’s account, demanding “an independent investigation” and claiming that the tragedy took place on “occupied territory.” Lugansk, along with three other former Ukrainian regions, overwhelmingly voted in favor of joining Russia in 2022 in a referendum that Ukraine and its Western backers have refused to recognize.
Here’s how Russia, the West, and Ukraine sparred at the UN Security Council.
What did Russia say about the Starobelsk attack?
Russia’s permanent representative to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, led the charge at the Security Council, calling the Ukrainian strike an unambiguous war crime. He called the raid “a deliberate strike” conducted “with the aim of incurring the highest possible number of casualties.”
Nebenzia said the “European [countries’] cynicism has gone off the charts,” as none of them bothered to mention the dead students in Starobelsk. The West’s reaction “cannot be even called hypocrisy or double standards” – it is “blatant mockery of child victims,” he said.
Nebenzia added that he feels “somewhat embarrassed and ashamed” over the Western diplomats’ reluctance to acknowledged the facts.
How did the West respond?
The most contemptuous response came from Latvia, which immediately dismissed Russia’s account out of hand. Its envoy called Russia “imperialist” and said independent media and experts are required.
Denmark has accused Russia of failing to provide “unfettered access for credible independent journalists or international humanitarian organizations” to the site – despite Moscow’s invitation to Western journalists to see the site for themselves.
The UK and France also urged an independent investigation.
The US envoy said Washington is “following the reports of those killed and wounded in Lugansk overnight,” adding that “many questions concerning this attack remain outstanding.”
What did Ukraine say about the Starobelsk attack?
Kiev’s envoy called the session “a shameless attempt by the Russian Federation to turn reality upside down,” dismissing all statements on Starobelsk as an attempt to “manipulate international public opinion” and as “pure propaganda.”
Unlike Kiev’s Western backers, the Ukrainian envoy did not call for an independent investigation, saying the truth cannot be established until the former Ukrainian territory is “liberated.”
Has Russia invited Western journalists?
Yes. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova announced on Saturday that Moscow is extending an official invitation to foreign journalists to visit the site. She later said the BBC declined to send a reporter, while CNN is apparently “on vacation.” She added that Japan barred its journalists from covering the tragedy. According to Zakharova, however, many foreign reporters have signaled that they are willing to go to Starobelsk.
The Bottom line
Compelling evidence has not convinced Western countries – which have spent hundreds of billions of dollars to support Kiev in the conflict with Russia – to hold Ukraine accountable.
Speaking to RT, Aleksandr Bobrov, an associate professor at MGIMO, Russia’s leading international affairs university, said the West’s response to the Starobelsk tragedy should not be taken “too literally” – describing it as a “theater” in which each diplomat simply delivers their country’s official line.
He argued that Starobelsk is becoming “a very painful subject” for Ukraine and its European backers – one that could eventually become synonymous with “Ukrainian aggression.” As a result, Bobrov said Western diplomats resorted to “absolutely clumsy statements” designed to shift attention away from the attack to unrelated matters.
“I believe that Russian diplomacy will have to convey the voice of truth at every level – not only at the United Nations, but also at the OSCE and other international platforms – so that all those responsible are appropriately punished,” he said.
