Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin threatens ‘retaliation’ after claiming Kyiv struck student dormitory

Russia accused Ukraine of an attack in Luhansk that they say killed ten people and left dozens injured

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Vladimir Putin has threatened retaliation over a deadly attack on a student dormitory in occupied Luhansk overnight.

On Saturday, Moscow said the death toll from the attack rose to 10 people. Earlier, six were reported to be killed in the drone attack at the Starobilsk College. Forty-eight are reportedly injured, and 11 are still missing.

Russia accused Ukraine of committing a “terrorist attack”. Emergency teams continued rescue efforts at the scene. Images shared by Moscow-installed officials showed a collapsed building in the Russian-controlled town.

Putin insisted that the strike was not accidental and said that he had asked the defence ministry to prepare options for retaliation.

Ukraine has denied the Russian claims, and The Independent was unable to verify Moscow’s claims. Both sides deny deliberately targeting civilian areas.

Russia’s RIA state news agency reported earlier that a dorm housing 86 students collapsed following a “massive drone strike” on the Luhansk Pedagogical University.

• Putin says using nuclear weapons would be ‘last resort’ after massive joint drills with Belarus
• Russia launches nuclear war games on Europe’s doorstep as Nato issues stark warning
• Residents told to shelter as Lativa issues drone alert and scrambles NATO fighter jets
• This is why easing Russia’s oil sanctions is a gut punch to Ukraine

Key Points

• Death toll in student dorm strike rises to 10, Russian-installed official says
• Ukraine says radiation spike detected after Russia uses uranium in missiles
• Trump says he's sending 5,000 more troops to Poland
• Putin says use of nuclear weapons is 'last resort' measure
• Zelensky says oil plant strikes on Russia going according to plan
• Russia launches nuclear war games on Europe’s doorstep

Falling drone debris causes fire at oil terminal in Russia's Novorossiysk

Falling debris from drones has caused a fire to break out at a oil terminal in Russia’s Black Sea port port of Novorossiysk.

Officials said two people, who had been in the street when the drones hit the port, were injured and being treated in hospital.

Drones also damaged private houses farther north in the port city of Anapa, officials said.

Russia also intercepted Ukrainian drones targeting an industrial facility in Perm, regional governor Dmitry Makhonin on Saturday.

Death toll rises to 10 in attack on student dorm

The death toll from the drone strike on a student dorm in the Russian-controlled Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine has risen to 10, a Russian official has said.

Another 48 people have been injured and 11 remain unaccounted for, Leonid Pasechni stated.

Russia has threatened to retaliate over the deadly attack, accusing Ukraine of what it described as a deliberate drone strike in the town of Starobilsk.

Ukraine's military denied the Russian accusations and said it had struck an elite drone command unit in the area. It said that Kyiv complied with international humanitarian law.

Russia becoming ‘more reckless’ as Moscow weakened by war – Yvette Cooper

A weaker performance on the battlefield is making Russia “more reckless and dangerous”, the Foreign Secretary has warned.

Yvette Cooper said the peace dividend which began when the Cold War ended is “gone”, following a meeting of Nato foreign ministers in Sweden.

Read more:

Russia becoming ‘more reckless’ as Moscow weakened by war – Yvette Cooper

Death toll in student dorm strike rises to 10, Russian-installed official says

Russia says a Ukrainian drone strike on a student dorm in Russian-controlled Luhansk has killed 10 people, injured 48, and left 11 missing.

Earlier, it was reported that six were killed.

Moscow called it a deliberate attack on civilians, and Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered possible retaliation plans.

Ukraine denies targeting civilians, saying it actually struck a Russian elite drone command unit in the area and that the operation followed international law.

Unexploded drone removed from high-rise apartment in Ukraine after Russia strike

Fire at Ukrainian electrical substation partially cuts power to nuclear plant, IAEA says

A fire at a Ukrainian electrical substation caused by military activity has partially disconnected a nuclear power station from its external power supply, the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Friday.

Firefighters were tackling the blaze at the Dniprovska 750-kilovolt substation, which also provides external power to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant — Europe's largest, seized by Russia in 2022. As a result, the South Ukraine nuclear plant was partially disconnected from the grid at the request of the grid operator, the IAEA said.

IAEA director general Rafael Grossi expressed "deep concern," saying "such substations that are critical for nuclear safety must never be targeted."

The Zaporizhzhia plant generates no electricity but requires power to keep its nuclear fuel cool. One of its external lines has been down since 24 March, with the IAEA trying to arrange a ceasefire to carry out repairs. The head of Russia's Rosatom said this week the situation around the plant was reaching the "point of no return" due to increased Ukrainian attacks. Ukraine relies on nuclear power for up to 80 per cent of its energy needs since the Russian invasion.

Nato turns London Tube into ‘deep strike’ underground HQ to plan for Russian attack

The Independent world affairs editor Sam Kiley reports:

Nato forces have taken over a London Tube station to use as their underground HQ as they simulate launching “deep strike” operations on Russia in the event of an attack on a member state.

In a ramping up of preparations for war, the UK-led Nato Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) moved its military capability to a disused platform at Charing Cross station.

As part of Operation Arrcade Strike, soldiers are testing Nato’s capacity to use electronic warfare to jam Russia’s communications and down the Kremlin’s drones in the event of a Russian invasion of a Baltic country.

Defence sources said the UK only has enough drones to fight for a week, using a few hundred a day, which is well below the quantity that is needed. In Ukraine, that amounts to thousands per day in non-stop use, amid continued pleas from generals for Europe’s defence industry to help meet the challenge of a strategic threat.

Speaking from the Tube platform, US general Christopher Donahue, head of Nato’s Land Command, delivered an unvarnished warning to the alliance, saying that Nato has little time to prepare to meet a potential Russian attack.

“Mission-ready by 2030 is not a slogan, it is what we must do,” he said. “Legacy forms of mobilisation and movement are no longer a given Nato advantage, and a lack of protection in depth will be used against us.”

Nato tests missile operations from Tube station to prepare for Russian attack

Russia lost over 1.35 million troops in Ukraine war, Kyiv says

Russia has lost around 1,354,810 troops in Ukraine since the start of its full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022, according to Ukraine’s General Staff.

Ukraine also claims that Russia has lost large quantities of military equipment, including 11,949 tanks, 24,599 armoured combat vehicles, 42,579 artillery systems, 436 aircraft, 353 helicopters, more than 306,000 drones, 33 warships and boats, and two submarines.

Ukraine has not publicly disclosed its own military losses, citing operational secrecy. However, independent Western assessments suggest Russian casualties are significantly higher than Ukraine’s, The Kyiv Independent reported.

The Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies estimates the casualty ratio to be “roughly 2.5:1 or 2:1” in Ukraine’s favour.

Falling drone debris triggers fire at oil terminal in Russia's Novorossiysk

Falling debris from drones triggered a fire ⁠at an oil terminal in ⁠Russia's ​Black ⁠Sea port of Novorossiysk ⁠and one ​person ⁠was injured, ‌officials said this morning.

The ‌General Headquarters ‌of southern Krasnodar ⁠Region, posting on Telegram, said several technical and administrative buildings had caught fire. ‌Debris had ​also ‌fallen ⁠on the facility's ⁠oil storage terminal.

Pete Hegseth facing bipartisan pressure over $600 million Ukraine aid package

A bipartisan group of senators is pushing back on delays by the Department of Defense in sending $600 million in security aid to Ukraine and other allies in eastern Europe, dispatching a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday that calls for the funding to be disbursed.

Friction has grown between Congress and the Trump administration in recent weeks as lawmakers from both sides of the aisle push for updates on what has happened with $400 million in Ukraine and $200 million more for defense programs in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

The money was allocated by Congress last year.

Even Republican lawmakers have aired their frustration as President Donald Trump's administration disengages with Ukraine and other European allies.

“Ukraine has persistently and bravely repelled a four-year Russian onslaught, but its military needs and deserves continued American support,” said Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin and Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley in the joint letter.

Pete Hegseth facing bipartisan pressure over $600 million Ukraine aid package

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