Lubinets urgently contacts Belarus after accusations of attack on bus with children

Ukraine's Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, promptly contacted the Belarusian side following the dissemination of information by Russia about a possible attack on a bus with Belarusian children in the Bryansk region. In a social media post, Lubinets stated that Ukraine has no connection to this incident, as the Ukrainian Defense Forces do not strike civilian objects. He emphasized that Ukrainian military targets only military infrastructure on Russian territory, unlike Russia, which daily attacks Ukrainian cities and residential buildings. The ombudsman suggested this could be another provocation or information operation beneficial to Russia and expressed readiness to participate in a transparent and impartial investigation of all facts and circumstances.

Earlier, acting governor of the Bryansk region, Yegor Kovalshuk, claimed on June 17 that a Ukrainian drone attacked a bus carrying a children's football team from Gomel, Belarus, heading to Gelendzhik for vacation. According to him, a woman accompanying the team, a Belarusian citizen, was killed, and six others were injured, including four children. The Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal case for "terrorism," and the Kremlin also labeled it a terrorist act. Belarus's Foreign Ministry demanded comprehensive explanations from Kyiv.

Ukraine's General Staff officially refuted the allegations, emphasizing that during the specified period, the Ukrainian Defense Forces did not use unmanned aerial vehicles against targets in the Bryansk region of Russia. The statement said that Russia, unable to achieve its declared goals on the battlefield and suffering significant losses, increasingly resorts to information manipulation and fabrication of accusations against Ukraine.