Ukraine's SBU Says Intercepted Russian Document Proves Bus Attack Was Russian Special Operation

Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) announced that it has intercepted a Russian document indicating that the attack on a bus in Russia's Bryansk region, which carried children from Belarus, was a special operation by Russian intelligence services. According to the SBU, the document is a report from the monitoring center of the state institution "Safe Region." Its authenticity could not be independently verified. The report states that during the attack, there were no Ukrainian drones in the airspace of the Pochepsky district. Neither the duty officer of the radar battalion in the settlement of Supenevo nor the duty officer of the 32nd division confirmed the presence of Ukrainian drones. The document was signed by the chief engineer of the monitoring center, S. V. Klimenkova. The SBU believes the bus attack was a Russian intelligence special operation.

The attack on Wednesday morning killed a woman and injured several people, including children. All those on the bus were Belarusian citizens. Reportedly, the football players were heading on vacation to Gelendzhik, Russia.

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday called the incident a provocation and an attempt to drag Belarus into war. He did not directly identify who organized the provocation but stated that according to Belarusian authorities, the strike was carried out by a "drone of Ukrainian origin." Lukashenko demanded the truth from Ukraine. He acknowledged that there are many conspiracy theories and that Ukraine is hinting that Russia carried out the strike.

Ukraine categorically denies any involvement. On Wednesday, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported that drones were not attacking the Bryansk region at that time. Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets said he had contacted the Belarusian side and rejected Ukraine's involvement, accusing Russia of provocation. He also agreed to participate in a transparent investigation.

The Ukrainian army continues strikes on logistics routes in the Russian rear, mostly in occupied Ukrainian territories, and claims it only strikes military targets.

Russia accused Ukraine of a "terrorist attack." Belarus's Foreign Ministry condemned the attack and advised citizens to avoid conflict zones and border areas. Lukashenko suggested refraining from sending children on vacation to Russia without state permission, noting that Belarus has enough places for training and football. He reiterated his categorical rejection of Belarus's desire to enter the war against Ukraine, mentioning that Ukrainian forces would inflict heavy losses on the country.