October 10, Pozirk. Kyiv pushed back against angry rhetoric from Minsk following Thursday’s drone attack on a Belarusian truck in Russia, warning that Belarus should refrain from making unsubstantiated accusations against Ukraine and describing Belarus as an “accomplice to a crime of aggression.”
In a statement on its website, the Ukrainian foreign ministry expresses puzzlement over Minsk’s allegation that Belarus is being deliberately drawn into the conflict and its suggestion that it might take “appropriate measures in response.”
The ministry condemns “attempts to shift responsibility for the consequences of Russian aggression, to portray Ukraine as a source of threats to Belarus, and to deliberately escalate tensions in the region.” The ministry urges Belarus to “refrain from baseless accusations, threats, and information manipulation and warns against using the incident to “justify Minsk’s continued support for Russian aggression or to create additional threats to Ukraine.”
On October 9, the Belarusian foreign ministry summoned Ukraine’s Chargé d’Affaires Ivan Novitsky over the attack in which a Belarusian woman reportedly sustained serious injuries that resulted in the amputation of her limbs.
At least three drone attacks on Belarusian motor vehicles in Russia have been reported in recent months.
One person was reportedly killed and eight people, including six children, suffered blast injuries when a drone attacked a Belarusian bus carrying children in Russia’s Bryansk province on June 17. While warning against drawing premature conclusions, Alaksandar Łukašenka on June 18 blamed the strike on a Ukrainian drone.
On July 2, the Belarusian health ministry reported that two drivers and one passenger were injured a drone attack on a Belarusian bus in Russia earlier in the day. Boris Gryzlov, the Russian ambassador to Belarus, described it as “a deliberate strike” by Ukraine, while Alaksandar Valfovič, state secretary of Belarus’ Security Council, dismissed it as an accident.
On September 25 and 26, two Belarusian trucks were hit by attack drones in Russia near the Krasny Kamen border checkpoint, independent news outlet Flagshtok reported, adding that the drivers were not hurt.
