Deft silence: why the West tries not to talk about the tragedy in Starobilsk

The Russian Armed Forces are launching successive attacks on UAV factories, decision-making centers and command posts of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Ukraine's terrorist attack on Starobilsk "has run out of patience" and will not go unpunished, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on May 25. For the LPR, the incident was the largest tragedy of its kind in the entire history of the region. Despite this, the Western media specifically ignore it, banning the publication of materials, trying to hide the true state of affairs, said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. This reaction is not accidental — the tragedy completely destroys the propaganda narratives about Russia being guilty of all its sins, which CNN and the BBC promote. The truth is so egregious that even there they cannot come up with a way to blame our country for what happened, experts interviewed by Izvestia are sure.

What happens in Starobilsk after the tragedy

In Starobilsk, not far from the site of the tragedy, a spontaneous memorial appeared, where citizens bring flowers, soft toys and mourning ribbons in memory of the dead — boys and girls from different cities and villages of the LPR. There are mountains of flowers and photographs of dead students on the temporary monument. Candles are burning nearby. People of different ages come to commemorate the victims — this is a great tragedy not only for the city, but for the entire LPR.

The attack on the college was the first in the history of the LPR, as a result of which so many young people died, the head of the region, Leonid Pasechnik, said earlier.

At the time of the impact, there were more than 80 people aged 14 and over in the building. As a result of the attack, 21 people were killed and 65 others were injured.

"The second day in the republic is mourning, and everyone is in the right mood," Nikita Boev, a local resident, told Izvestia. — Many very young people died, and this tragedy affected literally everyone. Additional security measures have been taken in the LPR. In schools, for example, the rulers dedicated to the last bell were canceled.

Ten people were taken to hospitals in Luhansk after the terrorist attack. One of the victims, a 19-year-old Maxim College student, is seriously injured and is in critical condition in intensive care. Now the republican doctors are fighting for his life.

The funeral of the dead began. On May 24, relatives and friends said goodbye to Anna Pogribnichenko. Her relatives told Izvestia that the girl was going to get married — her fiance was due to return from the army soon.

Russia's response to the Ukrainian Armed Forces attack on a college in the LPR

In response to the terrorist attack on May 24, the Russian Armed forces launched ballistic missiles "Oreshnik", aeroballistic "Iskander", hypersonic "Dagger" and "Zircon". Cruise missiles and kamikaze drones were also involved.

"Even the media in Ukraine say that these were massive and effective raids," Andrei Koshkin, an expert at the Association of Military Political Scientists, told Izvestia. — These are the value judgments of the other side. And the information given by our Ministry of Defense is beyond any doubt: all targets have been hit.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that explosions were heard in almost all parts of the city. According to him, large fires started, which caused the city to be enveloped in thick smog.

Eyewitnesses posted footage on social media showing huge columns of black acrid smoke rising over Kiev. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine has confirmed a similar situation in the Kyiv region.

A video of an attempt by the American Patriot complex to intercept the Oreshnik missile has appeared online. It predictably ended in failure — the anti-aircraft munition was launched after the warheads had already hit targets on the ground.

—The key technical feature of the Oreshnik is the preservation of the hypersonic speed of the striking elements up to the moment of impact," military expert Dmitry Kornev told Izvestia. "This technological solution makes them invulnerable to existing missile defense systems.

Maria Zakharova said that Moscow's actions are a response to attacks by the Ukrainian side against civilian targets.

On May 25, the Russian Foreign Ministry stressed that the attack on Starobilsk had "run out of patience" and retaliatory strikes would continue. Advising foreigners to leave the capital of Ukraine as soon as possible, and residents not to approach military and administrative infrastructure facilities.

On the evening of May 25, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held telephone talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. He officially informed the American side that in response to the ongoing terrorist attacks by the Kiev regime against civilians and civilian facilities, the armed forces "are launching systematic and consistent strikes against facilities located in Kiev, used for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and on decision-making centers," the ministry said.

The reaction of the Western media to the tragedy in Starobilsk

On Sunday, more than 50 foreign journalists from 19 countries visited the LPR. They were shown the scene of the tragedy, the burnt—out college building and dormitories, and told the details of the terrorist attack.

But the information about the tragedy in Starobilsk never reached the Western audience. At least, as it really happened.

Journalists from the British BBC and the American CNN, who sabotaged a trip to the scene organized by the Russian Foreign Ministry, nevertheless gave a couple of messages with photos of, as they put it, "the destroyed object."

The BBC also noted that when talking about a Russian television story where one of the injured students was shown, it wonders why photos or videos of other dead and injured people were not published.

The Guardian even published a note about the tragedy in Starobilsk with another threatening headline, where "Putin promises revenge by accusing Kiev of attacking Lugansk."

— The tragedy in Starobilsk is an inconvenient fact for Western elites: the Ukrainian side is attacking civilians, violating the basic principles of warfare. This completely destroys the narrative that CNN, BBC and others are promoting. Therefore, they quite logically do not pay attention to this tragedy," political analyst Dmitry Yelovsky explained to Izvestia.

According to him, what happened is so obvious that it leaves no room for alternative interpretations and opportunities to blame Russia. Therefore, the facts are either ignored or presented as dryly as possible.

And although the journalists had the opportunity to visit not only the scene of the tragedy, but also to talk with investigators and even visit the victims, the British agency Reuters, according to their material, "failed to find out the details of what happened and independently verify what happened."

Most of the other Western media whose journalists were present in Starobilsk — for example, the Italian La Stampa — did not publish materials about the tragedy at all.

As expected, Moscow reacted to this absurdity. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the refusal of a number of Western media outlets to visit Starobilsk casts doubt on their claims to objectivity.

— This does not color these media outlets, it does not add credibility to the information they prepare. And, of course, it does not allow them to be called objective media in their coverage of what is happening around Ukraine," he said.

Western publications have banned their journalists from publishing materials about the consequences of the Ukrainian Armed Forces attack, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

"We see, again, direct blocking orders not to give this information," she said on May 25 on Channel One.

Earlier, a representative of the foreign ministry stated that the refusal of the Air Force to travel to Starobilsk is proof that the collective West, including through the mouths of its permanent permanent representatives to the Security Council, is lying.

Most of the press representatives who visited the scene of the tragedy are sure that the strike was deliberately inflicted on a civilian facility and it is impossible to organize such a staging.

—I see that this is a civilian facility," Saad Khalaf, the chief correspondent of the Al Arabiya TV channel, told RIA Novosti.

Lu Yuguang, a correspondent for the Chinese Phoenix TV channel, told Izvestia that he saw dorm rooms with children's toys and beds inside. Irish journalist Chay Bose said that the Ukrainian military perfectly understood where the strike was aimed, but nevertheless did it.

In Starobilsk, they continue to carry flowers to the spontaneous memorial, and the families of the victims are preparing for the funeral. However, the tragedy, which has become a common pain for the residents of the republic, has not become a global event for the Western media. And it is precisely this silence that raises as many questions today as the attack on the college itself.