When a Ukrainian strike hit Russian-occupied Starobilsk on May 22, Moscow seized on the attack almost instantly, with Russian officials claiming that 21 students of a local vocational college were killed and dozens more injured and portraying the strike as a deliberate attack on civilians — which Ukraine denied. The incident soon became a centerpiece of Russian state messaging, used to accuse Ukraine of terrorism, rally public outrage, and justify subsequent strikes on Kyiv on May 24 and June 2.