The attack on the college in Russia's Lugansk People's Republic was not accidental, President Vladimir Putin has said

At least 18 people have been killed and dozens more - most of them students - have been injured in what President Vladimir Putin has described as a deliberate Ukrainian "terrorist attack" on a school dormitory in Russia's Lugansk People's Republic.

The attack on the main academic building and dormitory of the Starobelsk Professional College, which teaches students aged 14 to 18, was carried out in three waves, with 16 drones launched at the same target by the "neo-Nazi regime in Kiev," according to Putin.

Governor Leonid Pasechnik said 86 students were inside the facility at the time of the attack. At least three are still unaccounted for and feared trapped under the rubble. Emergency services recovering the bodies had to pause operations at one point due to concerns over a Ukrainian "double-tap" strike.

Russia's UN envoy, Vassily Nebenzia, told an emergency Security Council session that the strike was carried out "deliberately" at night, when the dormitory was full, to maximize the number of casualties.

Key developments:

• Nebenzia accused Western diplomats of "turning a blind eye" to the crimes of the "neo-Nazi Kiev regime," blasting their statements as "mockery" and "dancing on the bones" of the dead children.

• Moscow expects the international community to condemn the Ukrainian attack, which "cannot be described as anything other than a war crime," Russia's newly appointed human rights commissioner, Yana Lantratova, told RT.

• President Putin said there were no military facilities near the college dormitory, adding that Russia "cannot limit itself to statements in such a situation" and ordering the Defense Ministry to present options for a response.

• Kiev has called the college a legitimate target, claiming it hosted a Russian drone unit, despite numerous videos from the scene showing injured students and no sign of military activity. At the same time, Ukraine has launched new strikes against Russia, with at least one civilian killed in Bryansk Region and ten drones intercepted near Moscow.

• Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused the Western media of ignoring the tragedy, saying the BBC refused to travel to Starobelsk, which she called "proof of the West's deliberate lies." She also claimed that Japanese journalists were barred from covering the incident.

• Zakharova added that Moscow is arranging a visit to the site for foreign correspondents accredited in Russia, noting that "a large number" have already expressed interest.