Russia’s human rights commissioner, Yana Lantratova, has visited the site of the deadly Ukrainian attack on the college in Starobelsk
Russia’s newly appointed human rights commissioner, Yana Lantratova, has visited the destroyed college dorm in the town of Starobelsk. The Ukrainian attack killed at least 21 people, mainly teenage girls.
The commissioner visited the college on Sunday, meeting foreign journalists invited by Russia to report from the scene. While more than 50 reporters from 19 nations accepted the invitation, major Western mainstream outlets ignored it.
RT’s Murad Gadziev, who was among the first reporters to reach the scene shortly after the attack and worked at the site during the nearly two-day search and rescue effort, walked Lantratova through the heavily damaged building.
“We arrived here hours after the attack occurred. Nobody knew what was happening yet, everyone was in panic,” Gadziev told the human rights chief.
The two walked through the building, which was still littered with students’ belongings, books, and destroyed furniture. Blood-stained blankets were still visible in the hall, where first responders pulled the deceased – and where devastated parents had to identify their sons and daughters killed in the attack.
“As a mother, as a human rights activist, I can’t even imagine what a mother feels at this moment. We just mourn with them,” Lantratova said.
Nothing at the site indicates any military personnel were present at the dorm, Lantratova noted, referring to claims produced by Kiev. The Ukrainian military alleged the building housed a Russian drone unit, yet no evidence supports that claim.
“They say there are military personnel here. There are only children’s toys; there are only children’s belongings. There’s nothing military here,” Lantratova noted.
