politics
Putin Orders Response After Ukrainian Drone Strike on Occupied Town
Russian President Vladimir Putin directed the defense ministry to prepare retaliation following a Ukrainian drone attack on a building in Starobilsk. Ukraine said the target was a headquarters of the Rubicon drone unit and rejected Russian descriptions of the site.
May 23, 7:29 AM·1m read1 source
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Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the defense ministry to prepare proposals for a response after Ukrainian drones struck a building in the occupied town of Starobilsk early Friday. Putin described the strike as a terrorist act targeting a college dormitory.
Russian state news agency Tass reported Saturday that the death toll had risen to 10, with 38 people injured, citing the Ministry of Emergency Situations. Ukraine’s military rejected the dormitory description and said the target was one of the headquarters of the Rubicon unit.
It stated that its forces strike military infrastructure and facilities used for military purposes.
Earlier this week, Ukrainian forces struck a Russian drone pilot training camp in the occupied town of Snizhne, according to the commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces. Robert Brovdi said the strike hit a 2,484-square-meter complex housing drones, explosives, and a command post.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed Thursday that another set of strikes in the Kherson region killed and wounded almost 100 Russians. CNN has not independently verified the casualty figures. Zelensky said Saturday that Ukrainian security services had struck a chemical plant in Perm Krai, 1,700 kilometers inside Russia, that supplies products to the Russian military.
He posted video showing smoke rising from the facility.
