Russia Ukraine Monitoring Desk Islamabad
The Embassy of Russian Federation in Islamabad Pakistan is commemorating the victim students of College of the Lugansk State Pedagogical University in Starobelsk , located in the northeastern LPR who were hit when the Ukrainian Armed Forces shelled a dormitory and academic building of the college killing 21 and injuring more than 60 using unmanned aerial vehicles.
At the time of the strike, 86 children and teenagers were in the buildings. Twenty-one students, 18 young women, and 03 young men, all under 23, were killed. More than 60 others were injured to varying degrees. These students were supposed to be the first graduating class of Starobilsk Pedagogical University after the start of the Second World War.
Ambassador Albert P. Khorev held a press conference and later exhibition of the portraits of the victim students with description about who was who in the afternoon of 09 June 2026 at the Residence in Islamabad.
Second most noteworthy point of the press conference was how Russia escaped nuclear catastrophe when on the night of May 31, the Ukrainian Armed Forces, using drones, twice deliberately attacked one of the Zaporozhye NPP’s power units. The strike created a 30-cm-diameter hole in the metal casing of the turbine hall, just 10 meters from the reactor. Fortunately, no casualties or critical damage to these facilities were sustained.
Ambassador informed about Moscow’s decision to give a new quality to its military actions in Ukraine, which will henceforth be directed at decision-making centers, command posts, and enterprises of the Ukrainian defence industry, including in Kiev, and will be consistent and systematic in nature.
During the briefing, the envoy also gave an assessment of the latest outrageous, bordering on madness, attacks by the Ukrainian army on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant and the city of Energodar, the cynical drone strikes in the cities of Yenakiyevo and Genichesk, as well as attempts to disrupt the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
Mr. Khorev stated, the Ukrainian Armed Forces regularly carry out cynical, bloody attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure in Russia. However, the attack in Starobilsk was the last straw, crossing a “red line.”
“This terrorist attack by the Kiev junta against children and adolescents, committed in violation of international humanitarian law—the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, which provide for the protection of civilians in armed conflicts, as well as the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child—not only deserves the strongest condemnation from the international community. It has become a turning point, leading to Russia’s military actions in Ukraine taking a new dimension, Ambassador shared.
Russian War against Ukraine: False Narratives and Facts – Opinion by Markiian Chuchuk
He presented the details of consecutive events as ;
On May 25, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a corresponding statement, according to which “the Russian Armed Forces are launching consistent, systemic strikes against Ukrainian military-industrial complex enterprises in Kiev, including specific locations where UAVs are designed, manufactured, programmed, and prepared for use. These UAVs are used by the Kiev regime with the assistance of NATO specialists responsible for the supply of components, the provision of intelligence, and targeting. Strikes will target both decision-making centers and command posts.”
On the night of May 24, the Russian army launched the first series of “retaliatory strikes” against Ukraine, using Oreshnik ballistic missiles, Iskander aeroballistic missiles, Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, and Tsirkon cruise missiles. The Ukrainian Armed Forces command acknowledged that the country’s air defenses failed to cope with the strikes on Kyiv, failing to shoot down a single Kinzhal or Tsirkon missile and intercepting only 11 of the 30 Iskander missiles.
On June 2 of this year, a similar massive strike with precision-guided weapons from the Russian Armed Forces hit military-industrial complex facilities, fuel and transport infrastructure used for military purposes in Kiev, Zaporozhye , Kharkov, and Dnepropetrovsk. Such strikes will be carried out on a regular basis from now on.
Mr. Khorev said, “Western countries virtually ignored the terrorist attack in Starobelsk, but immediately condemned Moscow after the “retaliatory strike” using the Oreshnik missile. European leaders once again reaffirmed their readiness to continue providing military assistance to the Kiev junta, which amounts to nothing less than complicity in its terrorist crimes. This approach only leads to an escalation of the conflict, making the prospects for productive peace dialogue very dim.”
He added that the attitude of international organizations toward this incident is astonishing, particularly the extremely dry and terse response to the attack in Starobelsk from the UNESCO Secretariat, which limited itself to a brief statement about allegedly unverifiable reports of civilian casualties. Yet, after the Russian Armed Forces’ retaliatory strikes, the organization immediately promised Kyiv “assistance in assessing the damage and determining urgent measures”—a blatant example of “double standards.”
“Given the inadequate response and odious statements made by some “Westerners” immediately following the tragedy, Russian authorities quickly debunked the fakes. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized a trip to Starobelsk for foreign journalists, where 51 foreign media representatives from 20 countries, including 02 Pakistanis, braved the scene of the terrorist attack and witnessed the shocking scene firsthand, Ambassador noted.
Ambassador appreciated the contributions of the two Pakistani journalists in their media after the tour in which they confirmed the strikes on the college were totally against the civilian educational building and only the innocent students were among the victims of the Ukrainian strikes.
He continued that remarkably, among them were reporters not only from countries friendly to Russia, but also from the United States and Europe. However, some Russophobes didn’t consider it necessary to witness the tragedy’s aftermath with their own eyes: the BBC refused to send its correspondents, and Japanese authorities banned their journalists from covering the attack. Ukrainian media outlets even openly mocked the victims.
” It’s worth noting that the attack on Starobilsk College was followed by further similar terrorist attacks. On the night of May 27 and from May 28 to 31 of this year, the Ukrainian Armed Forces shelled residential buildings and civilian infrastructure in Energodar, where specialists from the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) primarily reside, including a kindergarten and a maternity hospital”
Ambassador Albert P. Khorev
On the night of May 31, the Ukrainian Armed Forces, using drones, twice deliberately attacked one of the Zaporizhzhia NPP’s power units. The strike created a 30-cm-diameter hole in the metal casing of the turbine hall, just 10 meters from the reactor. Fortunately, no casualties or critical damage to these facilities were sustained.
Ambassador expressed confidence that kiev, as well as its American and European overseers, are fully aware of the potential global catastrophe posed by provocations against the nuclear safety of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.
He siad Russia urges the sponsors of the Zelenskyy regime to reflect: they too will suffer the consequences of such recklessness on the part of the Ukrainian authorities. We hope that the IAEA leadership will fairly assess Kiev’s actions. ” For our part, we will continue to do everything possible to maintain the safe operation of the Zaporizhzhya NPP, Ambassador said.
On May 31st, a 5-year-old boy died from shrapnel wounds to the heart as a result of a drone attack on a residential area in Henichesk (Kherson region). On June 3rd, a Moscow-Simferopol bus was fired upon in the center of Yenakiyeve (DPR). Seven people were killed, and 11, including one child, sustained injuries of varying severity.
Ambassador said, “Another criminal adventure by the Ukrainian regime was the attempt to disrupt the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, which brought together representatives of domestic businesses, high-ranking foreign officials, and public figures from more than 100 countries.”
A Ukrainian drone strike on June 3, the opening day of the Forum, hit infrastructure in Kronstadt and the Kirovsky and Krasnoselsky districts of St. Petersburg, right next to major residential areas.
The massive drone attack on the city was repelled on the morning of June 6. Russia continues to successfully repel the strikes—evidently, any such sabotage attempts by the Kiev junta are doomed to failure.
The SPIEF results, meanwhile, demonstrate that Russia’s approach enjoys broad international support among countries of the Global South and is understood even by unbiased experts in the Western community.
The list of all the atrocities committed by the fascist Kiev junta is endless, and they are committed not only against Russian citizens but also against their own compatriots. On May 28, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs published its latest report on the human rights situation in Ukraine.
The data it presents on monstrous, systemic violations of basic human rights demonstrates the total degradation of the human rights situation in Ukraine. He invited Pakistani journalists to read this report: links to the English version are on social media.
He underlined that Russia remains committed to avoiding any damage to civilian objects and civilians in Ukraine. In this regard, he drew attention to the Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement of May 25, which called on foreign citizens, including employees of diplomatic missions and international organizations, to leave Kiev as soon as possible.
” We have also communicated this information to the Pakistani side through diplomatic channels. We note the constructive approach of official Islamabad, which takes our warnings very seriously and maintains a balanced, neutral position on the situation in Ukraine, Ambassador concluded.
( Editor’s Note : Ambassador of Ukraine Markian Chuchuk stated in his latest article in response to the previous press conference of Ambassador Russia that a journalist should see him/herself out of the window when he she is told that it is raining outside to confirm it is raining or not raining. Pakistani journalists do not have the access to the regions where the war is being fought. Therefore, better share your side of view than criticize the journalists only. If Ambassador Ukraine sends his side of story on this latest press conference , we will publish that as well – What we want the only thing is peace between the two neighbors and former one country – Tazeen Akhtar )
