On June 17th, 2025, the Ukraine Armed Forces (UAF) utilized an airplane-type drone to attack a double-decker bus carrying a youth football (soccer) team from Gomel, Belarus, who were passing through the Bryansk Region on their way to Gelendzhik. There were 44 passengers on the attacked bus, including 28 child athletes, as per Investigative Committee Spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko.
According to reports, a woman accompanying the team was killed by the strike, and eight were hospitalized, including six children. One of the five is in serious condition, while the others are in moderate condition. According to Maria Lvova-Belova, who serves as presidential commissioner for children’s rights, the children received shrapnel wounds.
Egor Kovalchuk, Acting Governor of the Bryansk Region, posted on Telegram:
As a result of the inhumanity of the Kiev regime, a woman died and children were injured. I am in touch with the leadership of the Gomel region. Our doctors are doing everything possible; medical and psychological assistance is provided. Moscow specialists from the Center for Disaster Medicine are going to Bryansk.
Response by Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian authorities
Under Article 205 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case, identifying it as a terrorist act, and Petrenko noted that “the agency is establishing the details of the crime and those involved in it.”
The Investigative Committee of Belarus has also opened a criminal case, as per its Chairman Konstantin Bychek. Belarus’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the strike “another act of terrorism against civilians” and demanded “exhaustive explanations” from the Kiev authorities.
The Kiev authorities have denied launching drones and dismissed the Russian side’s statements as “false.” As per Kyiv Post, Ukraine’s General Staff called the incident “yet another information provocation orchestrated by the Kremlin,” reiterating its long-standing claim that the UAF engages “exclusively lawful military targets and [does] not conduct combat operations against the civilian population.”
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov suggested that Europe would once again ignore the Kiev regime’s actions, but this should not discourage Moscow from “telling the world about these atrocities.”
This was echoed by independent Dutch journalist Sonja van den Ende, who asserted that “NATO is complicit in all these war crimes” and “Europe, with all its big talk about democracy and about human rights, is not saying a word.”
Medical, psychological, logistical support for victims
Bryansk’s regional prosecutor Vladimir Mosin visited the location and established a hotline for protecting victims’ legal rights.
Russia’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Yana Lantratova, said that she is in touch with her Belarusian colleague Alexander Matyushonok, head of the Belarusian Department of Educational Work of the Education Ministry; Inna Mukhina, Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Bryansk Region; and relevant agencies.
In the meantime, Bryansk sports club Dinamo will provide its hotel for the victims’ families, and the region’s Department of Physical Culture and Sports says it is ready to assist. As per Matyushonok, “the issue of getting the children home to their family is being worked out.”
“No hint of hesitation”: Foreign Affairs Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova
Spokesperson Maria Zakharova of Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated the following:
We would like to express our deepest condolences to the loved ones of the deceased woman and wish a speedy recovery to all those injured. We maintain direct contact with the Foreign Ministry of Belarus and the Belarusian Embassy in Moscow. We stand in solidarity with our Belarusian friends and are prepared to provide all necessary assistance.
We strongly condemn this hideous crime by Zelensky’s regime. Contrary to the hypocritical claims that the regime is allegedly committed to protecting children, it is consciously jeopardizing them and, with no hint of hesitation, making them targets for planned strikes by the Ukrainian forces, just as it did in Starobelsk.
We call on international bodies, national governments and the global community to give a fair assessment of the criminal actions by Zelensky’s regime and strongly condemn this terrorist attack. Silence will indicate approval and encouragement of the Kiev terrorists to commit further bloody crimes.
In a comment to Vesti journalist Pavel Zarubin, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called the attack “deliberate” and “absolutely typical of the Kiev regime.” He asserted that the attack was done “in the hopes of sowing panic and undermining the unity of the people.”
Belarus’ role in the Special Military Operation
While Belarus is a close military and political ally of Russia, it has not directly joined the Ukraine conflict. Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko has said on multiple occasions that he would only enter the fighting “if attacked first.”
In the past weeks, Ukraine’s Zelensky has threatened Belarus with potential “consequences” on numerous occasions if they enter the conflict. However, Ukraine’s own officials note there is no evidence of such plans.
Lukashenko has dismissed these claims as empty grandstanding, asserting that the UAF lacks the manpower to attack Belarus. With this attack, former Pentagon analyst Michael Maloof suggested that it is possible “the Ukrainians want to invite Belarus into the conflict.”
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Only kind of related, but would be curious about a measured ML take on modern Belarus. I have heard from various sources that it is an example of post-Soviet degradation into a capitalist state *and* that it is an example of continued adaptive communism a la China/Vietnam. I think it's inarguable that it is an anti-imperialist state sort of by definition, but Lukashenko's regime is a bit of a puzzle to me.
Put this on BSKY🙏 - or I will - let me know✌️