Putin threatens retaliation after a deadly attack on a dormitory in eastern Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his military to prepare several retaliatory options against Ukraine after a drone attack struck a student dormitory in a Moscow-controlled area of ​​eastern Ukraine. According to Russian authorities, the attack left at least six people dead, dozens wounded, and several missing.

The incident occurred in Starobilsk, in the Luhansk region, Ukrainian territory occupied by Russian forces. Moscow claims that a dormitory housing teenagers was targeted. According to Russian officials, 86 youths were in the building at the time of the attack, and up to 18 children may still be trapped under the rubble.

In a statement broadcast on Russian state television, Vladimir Putin accused Kyiv of deliberately targeting a civilian building. The Russian president asserted that no military or intelligence facilities were located near the dormitory and maintained that the strike could not be attributed to a malfunction in Russian defense systems.

According to him, the attack was carried out "in three waves" with sixteen drones targeting the same site. He specified that he had asked the Russian army to prepare various possible responses to this operation.

The Ukrainian army has rejected Russian accusations and maintains that it targeted an elite unit specializing in drone command in the area. Kyiv asserts that it complied with international humanitarian law and accuses Moscow of "manipulating" the situation.

Reuters reports that it has not been able to independently verify the exact circumstances of the attack. Since the start of the conflict, Moscow and Kyiv have regularly blamed each other for strikes that have hit civilian areas, each denying that they deliberately targeted non-combatant populations.

This new escalation comes amid rising military tensions between the two countries and could further fuel fears of a hardening of the conflict in the coming weeks.