A bus carrying a Belarusian children’s football team was struck by a drone in Russia’s Bryansk Oblast – which borders both Ukraine and Belarus – on Wednesday. Ukraine denied any involvement.
Kremlin-appointed acting Bryansk Governor Yegor Kovalchuk claimed “Ukrainian terrorists attacked a bus carrying a children’s football team from Belarus,” blaming Kyiv for the strike.
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Ukraine’s General Staff denied the accusation in a statement on Telegram, saying that Ukrainian forces had not deployed drones against targets in Bryansk Oblast during the period in question.
The General Staff said Russia is “increasingly resorting to information manipulation and the fabrication of accusations against Ukraine,” as a result of its inability to achieve its declared objectives on the battlefield. “We regard such reports as yet another information provocation orchestrated by the Kremlin,” the statement reads. “The Armed Forces of Ukraine engage exclusively lawful military targets and do not conduct combat operations against the civilian population.”
The accusation comes as Russia continues to sustain significant troop losses and economic strain. The General Staff stated that it is Russia that continues to violate international humanitarian laws by launching strikes against Ukrainian civilians and civilian infrastructure, including residential areas, hospitals, and schools.
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“As a result of the latest missile attacks against Ukraine, including those targeting Kyiv, dozens of civilians have been killed, among them children.”
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Russia has reportedly killed more than 707 children, injured 2,548 others, and left 2,318 missing.
1 woman killed, several children injured
The woman killed in the attack was identified by Belarusian independent outlet Nasha Niva as 44-year old Victoriya Hrytsenka, who was accompanying the team. She was reportedly the wife of Alyaksei Garoshka, a coach of Children’s and Youth Sports School No. 2 in the Rechitsa District of Gomel, who sustained injuries that left him in serious condition.
Russia’s Investigative Committee has published video footage showing the damaged bus and the surrounding area, as reported by the same media outlet.
Belarus condemned the attack
Belarus’ Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the attack, calling it “yet another act of terrorism against the civilian population” and demanding “comprehensive explanations from the Ukrainian side.”
Spokesperson Ruslan Varankov stressed the “absolute necessity of excluding travel to conflict zones, areas of hostilities, and adjacent regions,” and called for strict compliance with procedures governing trips abroad, particularly for children.
Lukashenko apologizes to Zelensky, rules out joining the war
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko ruled out Belarus entering Russia’s war against Ukraine on Monday, calling any spillover of the conflict onto his country’s territory absolutely unacceptable.
Lukashenko said the issue had been discussed with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, and cited personal and humanitarian reasons against entering the war, saying his ancestors’ roots lie “somewhere between Chernihiv and Kyiv.”
He publicly apologized to President Volodymyr Zelensky for past criticism, saying he maybe “went too far” and perhaps should not have spoken so harshly about him while Ukraine is at war.
His remarks came after a senior Ukrainian military commander had warned Lukashenko not to interfere in the conflict following recent border tensions.
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