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Russian envoy claims Ukraine targeted Belarusian bus, Valfovič calls strike happenstance; remark removed from state broadcaster’s website
The bus traveling back to Belarus after the incident.
July 2, Pozirk. Boris Gryzlov, the Russian ambassador to Belarus, described today’s incident involving a Belarusian bus in Russia as “a deliberate strike” by Ukraine, while the Belarusian security chief dismissed it as happenstance.
According to media reports, a drone exploded in front of a Belarusian passenger bus at a parking lot in Russia, though no one appears to have been seriously injured. The alleged Belarusian victims said they did not need medical assistance on arrival in Belarus.
“This is neither an accident nor a coincidence, but a carefully planned and coordinated terrorist act that can only be classified as a deliberate act of violence and aggression against the civilian population. This is a war crime that will not go unpunished,” the Russian embassy’s press office quoted Gryzlov as saying.
However, Alaksandar Valfovič, state secretary of Belarus’ Security Council, described what happened as an accident.
“The Belarusian bus was not specifically targeted,” he told Belarusian state-run media. “It was simply a bus traveling through the Bryansk province by chance, and a drone happened to crash on the road between two highways.”
The official urged Belarusians not to visit Russian provinces near the border, saying that “drones fall there every day, and such unfortunate incidents occur.” The bus was carrying people who had decided to spend their holiday on the Black Sea, yet “by traveling there, they are undoubtedly putting themselves in great danger,” he said.
Notably, Belarus’ state-run television channel ONT removed Valfovič’s remarks from its website shortly after publishing them.
News.by posted footage of the bus, showing that the vehicle in motion without any noticeable damage.
Russia’s Investigative Committee said it filed criminal charges against the Ukrainian army over an attack. Belarus’ top officials have not yet commented on the incident.
Russian Telegram channels were the first to report the attack, including several that claim access to insider information and are widely believed to have links to Russian intelligence agencies. These sources blamed the incident on Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation has denied Ukraine’s involvement, accusing Russian propaganda of blaming Ukraine without providing any evidence.
News.by reported that at around midday “a drone crashed into the vehicle” while it was parked in a parking lot near the village of Krasnaya Gora in Bryansk province, noting that 19 passengers were on board. The Belarusian state-controlled news outlet published an interview with a representative of Stalica, the bus operator, who said that no one was injured.
However, Russian sources alleged that two drivers, both from the Homiel region, sustained minor injuries and received medical treatment.
Belarusians travelling on the bus have been transported from Russia’s Bryansk province to Belarus, Yegor Kovalchuk, the acting governor of Bryansk province, said on Telegram. He blamed the attack on Ukraine, noting that two drivers were treated for shrapnel wounds.
Kovalchuk was also the first official to report another attack in the province on June 17.
On that day, a drone struck a Belarusian tour bus carrying 44 passengers, including 28 minors enrolled in a soccer program, killing Viktoryja Haroška, the wife of a coach at the Rečyca sports school for children, and injuring six others, including five children.
While warning against drawing premature conclusions, Alaksandar Łukašenka blamed the strike on a Ukrainian drone.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine denied any involvement, stating that Ukrainian forces had not used unmanned aerial vehicles against targets in Russia’s Bryansk province on the day the bus was hit.
The UN Security Council on June 29 called for an impartial investigation into the incident.
Conflicting reports coming in on injuries in drone incident
July 2, Pozirk. The Belarusian health ministry said that two drivers and one passenger were injured in today's alleged drone attack on a Belarusian bus in Russia, without providing details about the nature or severity of their injuries. However, Alaksandar …
