We see nothing: How has the West reacted to the Ukrainian strike on a Russian school dorm?

Kiev’s backers refuse to acknowledge Kiev’s drone raid on Starobelsk that left at least 18 students dead and dozens more injured At least 18 people have been killed and dozens more wounded – most of them students – in a Ukrainian drone raid on a school dormitory in Starobelsk in Russia’s Lugansk People’s Republic on Friday. As of Saturday afternoon, search-and-rescue operations are still underway, with local officials reporting additional Ukrainian drone attacks aimed at derailing the efforts. President Vladimir Putin called the raid a “terrorist attack by the neo-Nazi regime,” adding that he ordered the military to prepare retaliation. Following the attack, Russia requested an emergency UN Security Council session. However, despite ample evidence and videos from the scene, Western countries have cast doubt on Russia’s account, demanding “an independent investigation” and claiming that the tragedy took place on “occupied territory.” Lugansk, along with three other former Ukrainian regions, overwhelmingly voted in favor of joining Russia in 2022 in a referendum that Ukraine and its Western backers have refused to recognize. Here’s how Russia, the West, and Ukraine sparred at the UN Security Council. Read more RT recounts deadliest Ukrainian ‘terrorist strikes’ on Russian civilians What did Russia say about the Starobelsk attack? Russia’s permanent representative to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, led the charge at the Security Council, calling the Ukrainian strike an unambiguous war crime. He called the raid “a deliberate strike” conducted “with the aim of incurring the highest possible number of casualties.” Nebenzia said the “European [countries’] cynicism has gone off the charts,” as none of them bothered to mention the dead students in Starobelsk. The West’s reaction “cannot be even called hypocrisy or double standards” – it is “blatant mockery of child victims,” he said.

Nebenzia added that he feels “somewhat embarrassed and ashamed” over the Western diplomats’ reluctance to acknowledged the facts. How did the West respond? The most contemptuous response came from Latvia, which immediately dismissed Russia’s account out of hand. Its envoy called Russia “imperialist” and said independent media and experts are required. Denmark has accused Russia of failing to provide “unfettered access for credible independent journalists or international humanitarian organizations” to the site – despite Moscow’s invitation to Western journalists to see the site for themselves. The UK and France also urged an independent investigation. The US envoy said Washington is “following the reports of those killed and wounded in Lugansk overnight,” adding that “many questions concerning this attack remain outstanding.” Read more Ukrainian drones could trigger NATO-Russia war – Fico What did Ukraine say about the Starobelsk attack? Kiev’s envoy called the session “a shameless attempt by the Russian Federation to turn reality upside down,” dismissing all statements on Starobelsk as an attempt to “manipulate international public opinion” and as “pure propaganda.” Unlike Kiev’s Western backers, the Ukrainian envoy did not call for an independent investigation, saying the truth cannot be established until the former Ukrainian territory is “liberated.” Has Russia invited Western journalists? Yes. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova announced on Saturday that Moscow is extending an official invitation to foreign journalists to visit the site. She later said the BBC declined to send a reporter, while CNN is apparently “on vacation.” She added th