Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ drone attack on the academic building and dormitory of Lugansk State Pedagogical University’s college in Starobelsk, in the LPR, shows what it described as the terrorist nature of the Kiev regime, which, according to the ministry, deliberately targets civilians.

The ministry said the actions of Vladimir Zelensky and Western countries supplying weapons to the Ukrainian Armed Forces demonstrate disregard for international humanitarian law. In its statement, the ministry argued that such attacks violate the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their additional protocols, which regulate the protection of civilians during armed conflicts.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Moscow’s patience had been exhausted and that, under the current circumstances, the Russian Armed Forces were beginning systematic strikes on Ukrainian defence industry enterprises in Kiev.

The ministry specified that the strikes would target facilities involved in the development, production and preparation of drones, as well as decision-making centres and command posts.

According to the ministry, such facilities are located in different districts of Kiev. For this reason, Russia’s Foreign Ministry urged foreign citizens, including diplomatic mission staff, to leave the city as soon as possible. Residents of the Ukrainian capital were advised to stay away from military and administrative infrastructure sites.