A total of 38 people were wounded and 11 teenage students were missing, said Leonid Pasechnik, governor of the occupied Lugansk region.

Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the drone barrage that hit the college dormitory in Starobilsk overnight on Thursday to Friday and ordered the army to prepare a response.

“Rescuers worked through the night clearing the rubble in Starobelsk. Unfortunately, hopes were not fulfilled – the death toll has risen to 10,” Pasechnik wrote on Telegram, using a Russian spelling for the town.

He said search and rescue operations were continuing.

Ukraine denied targeting civilians and said it had hit a Russian drone unit stationed in the Starobilsk area.

Russia’s foreign ministry said on Friday that those responsible would face “inevitable and severe punishment”.

Ukraine regularly targets Russian-controlled areas of the country with drones, saying the strikes are retaliation for Russian attacks.

Starobilsk is located about 65km (40 miles) from the front line in east Ukraine.

Russian forces captured the town in 2022, shortly after launching their full-scale offensive.

The Lugansk region is almost entirely occupied by Russia, which claims it as its own.