Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, holds a press conference on Tuesday, May 26, in New York City following a recent Ukrainian drone strike on a college in Starobelsk, in the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR).

According to Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations (EMERCOM), the attack killed 21 people and injured 42 others.

Speaking at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Friday, Nebenzia condemned the strike, describing it as a 'blatant mockery of child victims'.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called the attack a 'terrorist act', arguing that it could not have occurred by accident. Ukraine's General Staff, meanwhile, said the strikes targeted several military facilities, including what it described as 'the headquarters of Rubicon', the Center for Advanced Unmanned Technologies in Starobelsk.