Regional officials say preliminary reports indicate at least 35 casualties in the overnight attack

At least 35 people have been injured in the Russian town of Starobelsk after Ukrainian forces launched an overnight attack on a local school, regional authorities have said.

The strike reportedly hit the main academic building and dormitory of the Starobelsk Professional College, which teaches students aged 14 to 18. Acting Governor Leonid Pasechnik said 86 students were inside the facility at the time of the attack, adding that some people may still be trapped under the rubble as emergency crews continue clearing the debris.

According to Pasechnik, the school was not the only target in what he described as a broader raid on the town. Starobelsk is located around 80 km north of Lugansk, the regional capital of the Lugansk People's Republic, which broke away from Ukraine following the 2014 Western-backed coup in Kiev and formally voted to join Russia in a referendum in 2022.

Leonid Pasechnik

The governor said administrative buildings, shops, and private homes were also damaged, with at least one additional person injured. He published images showing several badly damaged buildings, including the school, some of them still on fire.

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Kiev considers the Lugansk People's Republic part of Ukraine. In April, Ukrainian forces struck the Starobelsk administration building, injuring two pedestrians who were passing nearby.

Russian officials have accused Ukraine of deliberately targeting civilians as part of what Moscow describes as a campaign of terror. Ukrainian officials have said economic damage is one of the main objectives of Kiev's long-range drone strikes inside Russia, while also acknowledging that undermining public support for the government by affecting civilians is among their goals.

Ukrainian forces have intensified drone attacks in recent weeks. Last weekend, they launched the largest barrage targeting Moscow since the escalation of the conflict in 2022.

(RT.com)