Death toll rises to 18 in Ukrainian attack on school in Russian-occupied city

Ukrainian drone attack, in the context of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in the city of Starobilsk.
REUTERS/Pavel Klimov/File Photo
The death toll in the Ukrainian drone attack on a high school in a city in eastern Ukraine, occupied by Russia, rose to 18, according to authorities this Saturday (23).
Most of the victims are young women, Russian officials said during a heated debate over the incident at the UN.
Russian President Vladimir Putin promised retaliation for the attack which he said hit an area where "there were no military targets, nor facilities belonging to intelligence services or related agencies."
The attack took place on Thursday night in Starobelsk, a city in the Luhansk region with around 16 thousand inhabitants, in Ukraine.
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Ukraine denied targeting civilians and claimed the attack had targeted a Russian drone unit stationed in the area.
According to Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations, a total of 48 victims were recorded.
Videos released by the ministry show dozens of rescuers searching the remains of a five-story building, now reduced to ruins.
Most of the dead and missing are young women born between 2003 and 2008, according to a list released by Leonid Pasechnik, the region's Moscow-appointed governor.
Early this Saturday morning, Russian sources indicated on Friday that 86 young people between the ages of 14 and 18 were in a multi-story dormitory that collapsed after the drone attack.
The Ukrainian General Staff denied attacking civilians and claimed that its forces bombed several Russian military installations, including the headquarters of a unit deployed in the Starobelsk region.
The General Staff claimed to have attacked elements of the Rubikon group, a Russian unit specializing in drone attacks.
The Luhansk region, claimed by Moscow as its own, is almost entirely under Russian control.
Drone attacks on both sides of the border have increased considerably since last year, and both countries are capable of launching attacks every night with hundreds of these devices.
*With information from Reuters

Source: G1