General Staff denies claims of strike on bus with children in Russia's Bryansk region
Photo: Russia fabricated an attack on a bus carrying Belarusian children (Getty Images)
Official statement by the General Staff
The military leadership emphasized that Ukrainian Defense Forces did not use unmanned aerial vehicles against targets in Russia’s Bryansk region during the specified period. The Armed Forces of Ukraine strike only legitimate military targets and do not conduct combat operations against civilian populations.
"We regard such reports as yet another information provocation by the Kremlin. Unable to achieve its declared objectives on the battlefield and suffering significant losses, the Russian Federation is increasingly resorting to information manipulation and fabricating accusations against Ukraine," the General Staff stated.
Purpose of the Russian information operation (IPSO)
According to Andrii Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation, the Kremlin has noticed that Belarusians are unwilling to support Russia’s aggressive rhetoric against Ukraine. That is why Russian propaganda allegedly fabricated this so-called "terrorist attack."
The operation aims to use a crude and poorly coordinated provocation to incite the Belarusian population and draw it into supporting Russia’s aggressive actions. No factual evidence of the strike has been provided by the Russian side.
At the same time, Russia itself systematically violates international humanitarian law.
Russian forces regularly strike Ukrainian cities, hospitals, and schools. In the most recent missile attacks, including those on Kyiv, dozens of civilians were killed, among them children.
Allegations from Minsk
Today, June 17, the acting governor of Russia’s Bryansk region claimed that Ukrainian forces allegedly attacked a bus carrying children, resulting in the death of a woman and injuries to children.
The Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it strongly condemns the incident in Russia’s Bryansk region. The ministry called the event an "act of terrorism against civilians" and demanded a full explanation from the Ukrainian side.
At the same time, Belarus’s Foreign Ministry urged its citizens to strictly follow procedures for organizing children’s group travel abroad and to completely avoid traveling to conflict zones and neighboring regions.
Russian propaganda in the temporarily occupied territories
Russia is actively using administrative and ideological tools to exert pressure on the Ukrainian population living under occupation.
In particular, Russia has turned school "last bells" (a traditional ceremonial holiday marking the official end of the school year - ed.) in the temporarily occupied territories into a trap for graduates, using ceremonies for militarized propaganda and the recruitment of teenagers into UAV units of the Russian army. Lists of children with drone operation skills were handed over by collaborators to security services even before the end of the school year.
In addition, the occupation authorities are attempting to erase Ukrainian identity from children from an early age. It was previously reported that Russia continues to enforce Russification even in Ukrainian kindergartens in temporarily occupied territories, introducing mandatory Russian language classes in senior groups in order to push Ukrainian out of everyday communication.
At the same time, occupation administrations are creating propaganda narratives to divert attention from real humanitarian problems. For example, Russia in Donbas is promoting plans to "boost the economy" through tourism, despite the fact that before the arrival of the so-called "Russian world," the region was a major industrial hub with metallurgical giants and coal mines.
