Moscow has accused Kiev of deliberately targeting civilians in Russia following a deadly drone strike on a bus carrying a Belarusian youth sports team in the Bryansk Region. The attack killed one woman and injured several passengers, including children.
Bryansk Region’s acting governor Egor Kovalchuk first reported the incident. Belarusian Deputy Health Minister Aleksandr Khodzhaev confirmed eight people, including six children, were hospitalized after the strike.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed Health Minister Mikhail Murashko to ensure medical assistance for all individuals injured in what Moscow describes as a “terrorist attack” by the Kiev regime.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned the strike as terrorism, accusing Kiev of intentionally hunting children and placing minors in danger “without hesitation.” She compared the incident to a drone raid on a school dormitory in Starobelsk last month that killed 21 people.
Belarusian lawmaker Oleg Gaidukevich, deputy chairman of the parliament’s international affairs committee, described the attack as part of an increasing number of “extremist” actions by the Ukrainian military and regime. He wrote on Telegram: “Both Russia and Belarus are capable of fighting terrorism and extremism. They… will always respond firmly and in accordance with the law.”
Russia’s human rights commissioner Yana Lantratova labeled the attack a war crime under international humanitarian law, noting that “defenseless people… children” had been targeted. Criminal investigations have been launched in both Russia and Belarus, treating the incident as terrorism.
