Putin accuses Ukraine of carrying out drone strike on dormitory that claimed 10 lives, orders retaliation

Posted on by Taiwo Adebulu

2 min readNew DelhiMay 23, 2026 02:55 PM IST

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his military to prepare options on methods of retaliation after accusing Ukraine of a deliberate drone strike on a student dormitory in the ‌town of Starobilsk, news agency Reuters reported.

The deadly attack on the dormitory, located in the occupied part of eastern Ukraine, has so far killed ten, a Russian-installed official told the news agency.

About 38 people were injured in the overnight strike in the Luhansk region, while another 11 people remain missing, BBC reported quoting local Russian-backed governor.

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’16 drones used in attack’

Ukraine has denied the accusations, saying that it ​had struck an ⁠elite drone command unit in the area. However, Putin claimed there were “no military facilities, intelligence service facilities or related services in the vicinity,” BBC quoted.

“Therefore, there is absolutely no basis for claiming that the munitions struck the building as a result of our air defence or electronic warfare systems,” the Russian president said at a reception in his Kremlin residence in Moscow on Friday.

He also alleged that the strikes were carried out in three rounds using 16 drones.

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Meanwhile, Ukraine said that ⁠Kyiv had complied with international humanitarian law during the attack on the command unit.

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