Russia accused NATO of complicity in a deadly drone strike on a college dormitory in occupied eastern Ukraine on Friday, as the Kremlin intensified its rhetoric over attacks far behind the front line.
Six people were killed, 39 were injured, and 15 were reported missing after drones struck a professional college in the town of Starobilsk in the Russian-occupied Lugansk region, according to Moscow-installed officials.
Images released by the authorities showed flames tearing through the upper floors of the damaged building, with windows blown out and debris strewn across the site.
Vladimir Putin condemned the strike as a “terrorist attack”, accusing Ukraine of deliberately targeting civilians and students housed in the dormitory.
Putin has reduced Ukrainian cities to rubble over four years of war and has the temerity to accuse Ukraine and NATO of causing a “terror attack” inside Russia.
Putin said in a statement: “The neo-Nazi regime in Kiev carried out a terrorist attack on a college dormitory in the LNR”.
President Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian Defense Ministry to submit proposals to respond to the Kiev forces attack on a college in Staropilsk. pic.twitter.com/3LlpZvZq9q
— Russia RX (@Russia_RX24) May 22, 2026
Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, described the attack as a “heinous crime”, while Russia’s foreign ministry went further by alleging NATO bore responsibility for enabling the strike.
Russia’s Investigative Committee said four Ukrainian drones had hit the building, causing part of the five-storey structure to collapse to the second floor.
Leonid Pasechnik, the Moscow-installed governor of the Lugansk region, claimed 86 teenagers aged between 14 and 18 had been inside the academic building and dormitory at the time of the attack.
Foreign Ministry told TASS: “By carrying out the attack in Starobelsk, the Kyiv regime and its backers bear full responsibility for the escalation of hostilities.
“The Russian Federation has reliable information that Western capitals are supplying the Ukrainian Armed Forces with intelligence and assisting with targeting.
“There will be no leniency for any of those responsible for the attack on the college in Starobelsk. The Kyiv regime, suffering defeat on the battlefield, is turning a new page in the armed conflict.
statement shared by the TASS news agency said: “By carrying out the attack in Starobelsk, the Kyiv regime and its backers bear full responsibility for the escalation of hostilities.
“The Russian Federation has reliable information that Western capitals are supplying the Ukrainian Armed Forces with intelligence and assisting with targeting.
“There will be no leniency for any of those responsible for the attack on the college in Starobelsk. The Kyiv regime, suffering defeat on the battlefield, is turning a new page in the armed conflict.
Using the Russian spelling of the town’s name, he wrote on Russia’s MAX messaging platform: “Enemy drones attacked the academic building and dormitory of Starobelsk Professional College.”
Starobilsk lies around 40 miles from the front line and was seized by Russian forces in the early weeks of the 2022 invasion.
The strike comes as Ukraine has increasingly expanded long-range drone operations against Russian military targets and infrastructure deep behind occupied territory lines. Moscow has repeatedly accused Kyiv and its Western allies of escalating the conflict by supplying advanced weapons, intelligence and operational support.
Ukraine did not immediately comment on the incident or on Russia’s allegation of NATO involvement.
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