Documentary on Ukrainian Attack on Starobelsk College Screened in Morocco

RABAT, June 26. /TASS/. A private screening of the documentary titled, "Starobelsk. Children Must Not Be Killed," about the impact from a Ukrainian attack on a college in the Lugansk Region that killed more than 20 young people, took place on the premises of the Russian Center of Science and Culture (Russian House) in the capital of the Kingdom of Morocco, a TASS correspondent reported.

The documentary made by Olga Kiryi, Alexey Balakirev, and Ilya Andilevko, tells about the deadly attack on the night into May 22, when the college building was attacked, as recounted by witnesses, including Yelena Yuriyeva who rescued more than 30 injured teenagers from under the rubble.

"The story is very sensitive in many aspects, therefore we have so far decided to present this dramatic matter primarily to Russia’s friends in Morocco so they can have more information about that tragic day," head of the Russian House in Rabat Vladimir Sokolov told TASS. Here in Morocco, he added, the attack on the Starobelsk college was not very well known nor was it widely covered by local media. "We could not pass by that tragedy as we believe that, even despite such a sore subject, our Moroccan friends must know what is actually happening in border areas, in the Lugansk Region," he explained.

"I am indefinitely sorry... Young people who have not seen anything in life were killed," Anwar Amlius, who heads the Association of Moroccan Graduates of Universities and Institutes of the former Soviet Union (AMLUIS), shared his impression from the documentary. "Young people who have not done anyone any harm must not be killed," he emphasized.

The Ukrainian military carried out a combined, multi-stage, and deliberate strike on the academic building and dormitory of the Lugansk Pedagogical University’s Vocational College in the city of Starobelsk in the early hours of May 22. As many as 86 children were inside at the time of the attack. The Ukrainian strike killed 21 civilians and left another 65 injured. Among the injured, 42 students are aged between 15 and 22 years.