Russia, Ukraine trade blame over deadly attack on boarding school building in Kursk
- 2 February, 07:56
Russia and Ukraine have traded accusations over the deadly attack in a boarding school building in Russia’s Kursk region over weekend. At least four people were killed and 84 were trapped under the rubbles following a strike on February 1 on a boarding school building being used to shelter civilians in Suzdha city in border Kursk region that is partly controlled by Ukrainian troops.
The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed in the early hours of Sunday that it was Ukrainian forces that had launched a missile strike on the school, saying that the missiles were launched from Ukraine’s Sumy region. However, the ministry did not provide any proof to back its claim.
Russia’s Investigative Committee launched a terrorism probe against the commander of Ukraine's 19th Separate Missile Brigade.
"There is indisputable evidence and objective monitoring results showing that the strike was carried out by Russian tactical aviation," Ukraine’s Air Force wrote in a statement on February 1. The Air Force shared screenshot allegedly showing the flight path of the Russian guided aerial bomb. The Ukrainian military said that Russia launched a KAB aerial guided bomb at the site.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy condemned the attack on the boarding house in Sudzha. He drew parallels between Russia’s war in Ukraine and the military campaign in Chechnya back in 1990s.
"Even against their own civilians, the Russian army uses similar tactics,” the Ukrainian leader wrote on X social media platform. "They killed Syrians the same way. Russian bombs destroy Ukrainian homes the same way. And even against their own civilians, the Russian army uses similar tactics."
