Ukrainian General Staff Denies Russian Claims of Drone Attack on Bus with Belarusian Children in Bryansk Region

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has officially denied claims by Russian officials that a Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle attacked a bus carrying a Belarusian children's football team from Gomel in the Bryansk region. Russian authorities alleged the bus was heading to Gelendzhik for recreation and that the attack killed a woman, a Belarusian citizen accompanying the team, and wounded six others, including four children. Russia's Investigative Committee opened a criminal case for "terrorism," and the Kremlin also called it a "terrorist attack." Belarus's Foreign Ministry demanded "comprehensive explanations" from Kyiv.

Major Andriy Kovalyov, spokesperson for the General Staff, officially refuted the accusations, stating that "during the specified period, the Defense Forces of Ukraine did not use unmanned aerial vehicles against targets in the Bryansk region." He added that, unable to achieve declared goals on the battlefield and suffering significant losses, Russia increasingly resorts to information manipulation and fabricated accusations against Ukraine.

Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation, noted that this operation aims to influence public opinion in Belarus. "The Russians saw that Belarusians do not want to support Russia's aggressive rhetoric against Ukraine, and they invented a 'terrorist attack on a bus with Belarusian children in the Bryansk region,' hoping through this information provocation to incite the Belarusian population to support aggressive actions against Ukraine. The provocation itself is pathetic and bears all the signs of a coordinated operation without any factual evidence. It is typical for Russian propagandists."