Putin Vows Retaliation After Attack in Occupied Eastern Ukraine

(MENAFN) Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed retaliation after accusing Ukraine of launching a deadly attack on a student dormitory in the occupied eastern Ukrainian town of Starobilsk, according to reports.

Russia’s emergencies ministry said the overnight strike in the Luhansk region killed 18 people and injured 42 others, while three more individuals were believed to remain trapped beneath the rubble.

Ukraine’s military said it had targeted the headquarters of Russia’s elite Rubicon drone unit in Starobilsk, though it did not specify whether the site was the same building identified by Russian authorities.

Putin rejected claims that military infrastructure had been present near the damaged building.

"But Putin said there were "no military facilities, intelligence service facilities or related services in the vicinity"."

He also dismissed suggestions that the destruction may have resulted from Russian air defense or electronic warfare systems.

"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," he said at a reception in his Kremlin residence in Moscow on Friday.

The Russian leader instructed the military to prepare "proposals" for a response to the attack.

According to Putin, the strike was carried out in three waves involving 16 drones.

Russian state television later aired footage of what it described as one of the injured students, identifying her as 19-year-old Diana Shovkun.

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