Russia says foreign journalists were taken to Starobelsk to counter Western claims

Russia's Foreign Ministry said inviting foreign journalists to visit the site of a Ukrainian strike on a college in Starobelsk was intended to counter what it called false Western claims about the incident. Speaking on the sidelines of the International Security Forum, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the trip was organized so reporters could see the scene quickly and safely and draw their own conclusions.

Zakharova accused Ukrainian media and officials of reacting with "joy" and mockery over the strike, which she said hit teenagers at the college. She also claimed Western diplomats had cast doubt on Russia's account of the attack, arguing that this had prompted outrage in Russia and beyond.

According to Zakharova, Russia will continue to brief the international community on what it describes as crimes committed by Kyiv, using both public statements and diplomatic channels. She presented the Starobelsk visit as part of a broader effort to counter what Moscow says is misinformation about the war.

In the same remarks, Zakharova criticized Western financial support for Ukraine, saying the money would never be repaid and was being diverted to military purposes. She also repeated Russian criticism of Western influence in developing countries and of the International Criminal Court, which she said disproportionately targets non-Western political figures.