Four dead in Russian strike on Kursk school, Ukraine says

Zelensky posted on X that the incident exposed Russia as “a state devoid of civility”.

“This is how Russia wages war – Sudzha, Kursk region, Russian territory, a boarding school with civilians preparing to evacuate,” he wrote.

“A Russian aerial bomb. They destroyed the building even though dozens of civilians were there.”

The Ukrainian army’s general staff posted on Telegram that four people had died and that 84 civilians were rescued, adding that “the strike was carried out on purpose”.

For its part, the Russian defence ministry said Ukraine carried out Saturday’s attack, which it described as a targeted missile strike.

Ukraine launched a lightning thrust into the Russian oblast of Kursk last August, taking Russian border guards by surprise.

The government in Kyiv made it clear at the time that it had no intention of holding on to the territory seized, merely to use it as a bargaining chip in future peace negotiations.

Zelensky likened Saturday’s strike to “how Russia waged war against Chechnya decades ago. They killed Syrians the same way. Russian bombs destroy Ukrainian homes the same way”.