Authorities in the Russia-occupied Luhansk region said at least 10 people were killed after a Ukrainian military drone struck a university complex and student dormitory in the town of Starobilsk early on Friday. Russia’s state news agency RIA, citing the emergency ministry, reported a higher toll of 12 confirmed dead.
Starobilsk, about 65 kilometers (40 miles) from the front line in eastern Ukraine, has been under Russian control since 2022. Local officials said rescuers worked through the night clearing rubble after the strike. Leonid Pasechnik, governor of the occupied Luhansk region, said some 38 people were wounded and several teenage students were missing; he added that most of the victims were 19‑year‑old women.
Kyiv denied targeting civilians, saying its forces struck a Russian drone unit stationed in the Starobilsk area. Russia’s Foreign Ministry pledged “inevitable and severe punishment” for those responsible. Russian President Vladimir Putin denied there were military or law enforcement facilities near the university, condemned the drone barrage and ordered the armed forces to prepare a response.
The Starobilsk attack was one of several cross-border drone actions in recent days and weeks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted that Ukraine’s military had hit a large chemical plant in Russia’s Perm region, naming the Metafrax facility and saying production there had been halted. Ukrainian authorities said the plant supplied components used by multiple Russian military production sites, including parts for aircraft, drones, missile engines and explosives.
Separately, local officials in Russia’s Krasnodar region reported that falling drone debris sparked a fire at an oil terminal overnight, injuring two people. Russian officials did not identify that facility.
Rescue and emergency services continued operations at the Starobilsk site as authorities worked to account for the missing and treat the wounded.