Death Toll Rises to 18 After Strike on College in Occupied Luhansk

Russian-backed officials said the death toll rose to 18 after a Ukrainian strike hit a college and dormitory in the town of Starobilsk in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine. The Thursday night attack was one of the deadliest Ukrainian drone strikes in months and left 42 people wounded. Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry said two more bodies were pulled from the rubble, bringing the total number of victims to 60, including 18 killed. Officials said most of the dead and missing were young women born between 2003 and 2008. Ukraine said it did not target civilians and claimed it struck a Russian drone unit stationed in the area. Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the military to prepare a response.