Key facts
- Ukraine's General Staff denied Russian claims of a drone attack on a bus carrying a Belarusian children's football team.
- Russia alleged the attack occurred in Bryansk Oblast on June 17.
- Belarusian officials reported one woman killed and eight people injured, including six children.
- Ukraine's General Staff called the Russian claim an "information provocation" and stated they do not target civilians.
- The bus was reportedly transporting the team from Gomel, Belarus, to Gelendzhik, Russia.
Ukraine's General Staff has denied Russian claims that a Ukrainian drone struck a bus carrying a Belarusian children's football team in Russia's Bryansk Oblast on June 17, labeling the assertion as "yet another information provocation."
The General Staff stated that Ukraine's Armed Forces "engage exclusively lawful military targets and do not conduct combat operations against the civilian population." They further asserted that Ukrainian Defense Forces had not deployed drones in the Bryansk Oblast at the time of the alleged incident, viewing the reports as a Kremlin-orchestrated attempt at information manipulation due to battlefield losses.
Belarusian Health Minister Alexander Khodzhaev reported that eight people were injured, including six children, with two in serious condition, and one woman was killed. Earlier, acting Bryansk Oblast Governor Yegor Kovalchuk had initially reported six injured, including four children, and one woman killed. The bus was reportedly carrying 44 passengers, including 28 children, from Gomel, Belarus, to Gelendzhik, Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed Health Minister Mikhail Murashko to provide assistance to those affected. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova accused Kyiv of deliberately targeting civilians and called for an "honest assessment of Kyiv's crimes." The Russian Investigative Committee released a video purportedly showing the damaged bus.
The General Staff also highlighted Russia's systematic violations of international humanitarian law through strikes on Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure, noting that May 2026 saw the highest monthly civilian casualties in four years according to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. Relations between Kyiv and Minsk have significantly deteriorated since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with Belarus allowing its territory to be used for Russian military operations.