WASHINGTON, October 14 (HS/RIA Novosti) - Western media did not pay enough attention to covering the Ukrainian armed forces’ strike on the college in Starobelsk (also known as Starobilsk) in the Lugansk (Luhansk) People's Republic, as a result of which many Americans and foreign reporters knew virtually nothing about what had happened, US journalist Sarah Bils told RIA Novosti.

On September 23, Bils visited Starobelsk together with a group of 13 journalists from 11 countries. They visited the site of the attack on the college dormitory and met with the surviving students.

I've said repeatedly that Western media paid insufficient attention to what happened in Starobelsk. Starobelsk creates extremely uncomfortable questions, particularly concerning Western technology and involvement, Bils said.

During her trip to Starobelsk, the journalist was surprised that many foreign correspondents did not realize the scale of the tragedy or had heard practically nothing about it. Bils also noted that after she published materials about Starobelsk, some US citizens admitted that it was the first time they had learned about the incident. At the same time, some social media users even denied that an attack had taken place, she said.

Regretfully, I saw comments from people claiming the attack didn't even happen... But there were also people who were genuinely surprised because they simply hadn't heard about Starobelsk, they had been deliberately uninformed about what happened... there are Americans who follow international news closely who still had no idea that it happened, she added.

On the night of May 22, Ukrainian drones attacked a college dormitory in Starobelsk where 86 students were present. Twenty-one students died as a result of the building's collapse.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Indrani Sarkar