Starobilsk strike: rival accounts emerged on 22 May 2026
A look back at the competing Russian and Ukrainian accounts of a drone strike in occupied Luhansk Oblast, and Lukashenko's remarks a day earlier.
What happened in Starobilsk on 22 May 2026, and who was responsible? On that day the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, said a drone strike on a dormitory and school in Russian-occupied Luhansk Oblast had killed at least six people and injured dozens more. He attributed the attack to Ukraine.
Ukraine's military rejected that account. It described the comments from Russia as manipulation and said it had hit a drone command unit in Starobilsk.
The death toll was later reported as higher. According to the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry, 21 people were killed and 42 others injured. Reuters, the United Nations and other western countries were not able to independently verify any claims about the incident.
Lukashenko's remarks a day earlier
On 21 May 2026, the day before the strike, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko said his country would not join the current war. He added that he was ready to meet Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Belarus is a close ally of Russia and a member of the Union State with it. Before the full-scale offensive began, it allowed Russian forces to hold military drills on its territory. It later allowed Russia to stage part of the invasion from there, although those forces withdrew within two months. The border situation remains tense, and Ukraine has closed its checkpoints leading into Belarus, with exceptions for special cases.
The setting
Starobilsk lies in the Russian-occupied part of Luhansk Oblast. A military campaign has been under way along a frontline in the western parts of the oblast and the far-eastern parts of Kharkiv Oblast since 19 September 2022.
