- Category
- War in Ukraine
No Ukrainian Drones Involved in Bryansk Bus Attack Carrying Children, Intercepted Documents Reveal
Prefer U24 Media on Google
- Authors
![Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko]( "Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko")
Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) has obtained an internal Russian document indicating that no Ukrainian drones were operating in the area at the time of an attack on a bus carrying Belarusian citizens in Russia’s Bryansk region.
In a statement published on June 18, the SBU said the document was acquired during counterintelligence operations and originated from the monitoring center of the Bryansk regional state institution “Safe Region.”
We bring you stories from the ground. Your support keeps our team in the field.
According to the service, the report shows that Russian monitoring systems did not detect any Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles in the vicinity when the incident occurred. The document states that the Regional Segment of the Operational Headquarters of the Unified National Center registered no drone activity in the area.
It further notes that neither the duty officer of a radar battalion based in the Russian settlement of Suponevo nor personnel from Russia’s 32nd Division confirmed the presence of UAVs in the airspace during the relevant period.
Based on the information contained in the report, the SBU said it has grounds to believe that the attack on the bus may have been a special operation conducted by Russian security services.
The SBU argued that Russia has repeatedly accused Ukraine of incidents that were later found to involve Russian actors, claiming such cases are often used to support information and psychological operations and to exert pressure on Ukraine internationally.
“Ukraine and all components of our Security and Defense Forces strictly adhere to the laws and customs of war and operate exclusively against legitimate military targets,” the agency stated.
On June 17, governor of Russia’s Bryansk region Yegor Kovalychuk claimed that Ukrainian drones had allegedly struck a double-decker bus. According to the Russian version of events, the vehicle was carrying members of a children’s football team from Gomel who were traveling to the resort city of Gelendzhik.
-af6eab7c6bfc0e7afd3742c8c0cd07f3.jpg)
He also stated that six people were injured, including four children.
Later the same day, Ukraine’s General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has denied Russian allegations that a Ukrainian drone struck a bus carrying a Belarusian youth football team in Russia’s Bryansk region, calling the accusations another Kremlin information provocation.
According to the Ukrainian military, the Defense Forces did not conduct any drone operations against targets in Bryansk region during the period in question. Ukrainian officials said Moscow’s claims were fabricated and aimed at discrediting Ukraine.
“Unable to achieve its declared objectives on the battlefield and suffering significant losses, the Russian Federation is increasingly resorting to information manipulation and fabricated accusations against Ukraine,” said Andrii Kovaliov, spokesperson for the General Staff.
Kovaliov also pointed to Russia’s ongoing attacks against Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, accusing Moscow of routinely targeting cities, residential areas, hospitals, and schools.
“Russia itself continues to carry out treacherous strikes on Ukrainian cities, residential neighborhoods, hospitals, and schools every day, killing dozens of civilians, including children,” he said.
The incident also drew criticism from Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who questioned the decision to transport children through a region affected by active military operations.
“The blame also lies with those representatives of the state who irresponsibly sent children through a border zone of military activity. This was not an accident but a specific decision made by specific people in power who showed disregard for how these children would travel to their destination,” Tsikhanouskaya said.
Tsikhanouskaya urged Belarusians to avoid traveling to Russia, arguing that true security would only return once Russia ends its war against Ukraine.
Previously, a Russian FPV drone hit a group of civilians traveling along a road in Nikopol on June 16, killing three people.
The head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration, Oleksandr Hanzha, said the dead include an 87-year-old woman and her 51-year-old son. Officials are still working to identify the third victim of the attack.
Discuss this article:
-457ad7ae19a951ebdca94e9b6bf6309d.png)
-24deccd511006ba79cfc4d798c6c2ef5.jpeg "Photo of Louis Beaudemont")
-72b63a4e0c8c475ad81fe3eed3f63729.jpeg "Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk")
-111f0e5095e02c02446ffed57bfb0ab1.jpeg "Photo of Roman Kohanets")