Russia accuses Ukraine of attacking bus carrying schoolchildren, Kyiv denies it

MOSCOW — Russia accused Ukraine on Wednesday of carrying out a deadly drone strike on a bus carrying Belarusian schoolchildren, an allegation denied by Ukraine’s military.

Yegor Kovalchuk, the acting governor of Russia’s Bryansk region bordering Ukraine, said the bus was transporting a children’s soccer team from Belarus to a holiday destination in southern Russia when it was struck.

In a post on Telegram, Kovalchuk described the incident as a “completely deliberate strike on civilian transport on a busy highway” and said he had visited those injured.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry called the attack “another monstrous crime,” saying one woman accompanying the children was killed and eight others, including six children, were injured.

The Ukrainian military’s General Staff rejected the accusation, saying on Telegram that Ukrainian forces “did not employ unmanned aerial vehicles against targets in Bryansk Oblast” during the period in question.

Reuters was not able to independently verify the reports. Both Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly denied targeting civilians during the ongoing conflict.

Belarusian Health Minister Alexander Khodzhayev, quoted by state news agency Belta, said two people—an adult and a child—were in serious condition. He added that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko had ordered that injured Belarusian nationals be airlifted back to Belarus for treatment.

Belarus’s Foreign Ministry said it had requested “complete explanations” from Ukraine regarding the incident.

Kovalchuk also posted images online showing a silver bus with shattered windows, a damaged front right tire, and what appeared to be blood stains inside.

Russian investigators said they had opened a terrorism investigation. They stated the bus was traveling from Gomel, Belarus, to Gelendzhik, Russia, and was carrying 44 passengers, including 28 children.

The incident comes amid continued cross-border accusations between Russia and Ukraine. Earlier this month, Russia accused Ukraine of another drone strike on a bus in a Russian-controlled area of Ukraine’s Donetsk region, which it said killed eight civilians and injured 11 others.

Russia has regularly launched strikes on Ukrainian cities since its full-scale invasion began in February 2022, while Ukraine has increasingly carried out drone attacks inside Russia in recent months, saying they are aimed at weakening Moscow’s military capacity and economy. -Reporting by Andrew Osborn and Kyiv Buro, Editing by Timothy Heritage, Ron Popeski and Sanjeev Miglani/Reuters