Russia blames Ukraine, vows retaliation as 16 killed in strike on student dorm

The death toll from a drone strike on a student dorm in the Russian-controlled Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine has risen to 16, with most of the victims young women, Russian officials said on Saturday, after a heated ⁠U.N.

The death toll from a drone strike on a student dorm in the Russian-controlled Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine has risen to 16, with most of the victims young women, Russian officials said on Saturday, after a heated ⁠U.N. debate on the incident.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his military to prepare options for retaliation against Ukraine on Friday after Moscow accused Kyiv of what it described as a deliberate drone strike on a college in the town of Starobilsk.

Ukraine’s military denied responsibility for the attack, saying it had struck an elite drone command unit in the area and that its ⁠forces complied with international humanitarian law. Putin said there were ​no ⁠military facilities in the area.