Translated material
War
1552nd day. Russian authorities organized a trip for foreign journalists to Starobelsk, where a strike on a college killed 21 people. This is what they were shown there
Since February 24, 2022, Meduza has been broadcasting live about the Russian-Ukrainian war. We publish your letters every day because we are sure that we need to continue talking about the war. Share with us your thoughts about the war. What feelings are you experiencing? How does war affect your life and your attitude towards the world? If you have a story related to the war, tell it . The feedback form is at the end of this article. You can read the previous day's review here .
The authorities of Russia and the self-proclaimed LPR claim that on the night of May 22, the Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked the educational building and student dormitory of a pedagogical college in Starobelsk, a city in the Russian-controlled part of the Lugansk region. The head of the LPR, Leonid Pasechnik, said that at the time of the strike there were 86 children aged 14 to 18 years. According to the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, 21 people were killed and 65 people were injured. In the list of victims published by the LPR authorities, the majority are over 18 years of age.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces' attack on the college was not accidental. According to him, “three waves” of drones hit one place. Putin stressed that there were no military installations around the college and instructed the Russian Ministry of Defense to prepare a response. This response was a massive attack on Ukraine on the night of May 24 using drones, dozens of ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as Oreshnik.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine called the reports about the attack on the college in Starobelsk “manipulative.” The statement emphasized that the Ukrainian military strikes only “at military infrastructure and facilities that are used for military purposes, strictly observing the norms of international humanitarian law, the laws and customs of war.” At the same time, the General Staff reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked “one of the headquarters of the Rubicon unit in the area of the city of Starobelsk.”
Russian authorities organized a trip to Starobelsk for journalists accredited in Moscow. Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov said on May 25 that “a large number of journalists went there and saw with their own eyes the extent of the tragedy that occurred.” However, he added, “a whole number of media outlets, Western media outlets, decided not to go there under various pretexts.”
Meduza publishes photographs taken by journalists from Reuters, AFP and other Western publications who nevertheless went to the Lugansk region.
War through the eyes of Meduza readers
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Meduza's readers live in different countries and have different attitudes towards the war. We publish your letters to see this event through your eyes. Our editors try to present all points of view, even if they do not coincide with the editorial position. However, in accordance with the Meduza code, we do not publish messages that contain “hate speech,” justify the murder of civilians, or express direct support for an aggressive war.
Alexander . I am against this war and have been against it from the very beginning. It’s painful and shameful when you see how much grief people have caused in the name of your homeland.
But the dehumanization of Russians also worries and pains me. War of conquest is not a Russian invention. People have been killing each other since the beginning of time. I don’t think that people in Russia are “orcs” by nature. Sophisticated propaganda, hard life and fear of reprisals make people conformists.
One can gloat because Russians now feel first-hand what war is like. It is possible that strikes deep into Russia will help end the fighting more quickly, although this is not guaranteed.
But in any case, hatred only breeds more hatred. Most people are not connected with the war; they are now in pain and anxious. If we don't give a damn about them when they are suffering, we will create a vicious circle of resentment from which nothing good will come, and we ourselves will become what we hate. I think we need to relearn how to see each other as people. Hang in there.