Vassily Nebenzia said 51 civilians were killed by Ukrainian forces over the past week alone

The "barbaric" Ukrainian drone strike on a Russian college dormitory in Starobelsk cannot be justified, Russian envoy Vassily Nebenzia told the UN Security Council on Thursday, comparing Kiev's actions to atrocities committed by Nazi Germany.

A total of 21 students, most of them young women, were killed in the attack on May 22, while 44 others were injured. The strike occurred at night while the students were asleep.

Speaking at a Security Council meeting in New York, Ukrainian representative Andrey Melnik dismissed the "so-called incident" in Starobelsk as "a fake story," accusing Russia of spreading "yet another propaganda narrative." US deputy envoy Tammy Bruce condemned what Russia described as retaliatory strikes on Kiev as "obscene and unacceptable."

Nebenzia accused the West of turning a blind eye to the "cynical act of terrorism" in Starobelsk.

"What is particularly striking is the hypocrisy and cynicism of the European delegations. They usually rush to make accusations against Russia whenever it is politically convenient, yet in this case they have chosen to essentially ignore the tragedy and pin the blame on Moscow," Nebenzia said.

The Russian diplomat said that 51 civilians had been killed by Ukrainian forces over the past week, while 199 others were injured, including 20 children. He added that, over the same period, Ukraine had launched more than 4,300 drones at civilian targets, including residential neighborhoods, schools, and hospitals.

Nebenzia stressed that Russian strikes on Kiev on May 24 targeted "military-industrial sites," including facilities involved in drone production.

"Let us reiterate what we have said many times before: our armed forces do not target civilians or civilian infrastructure," he said.

In response to the attack on Starobelsk, Russia announced that it would carry out "systematic" strikes on military sites and command centers in Ukraine.