Belarus has accused Ukraine of attacking bus carrying children in Bryansk region of Russian Federation: Minsk is demanding explanation. PHOTO
The Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has accused Ukraine of carrying out a drone attack on a passenger coach carrying a children’s football team from Gomel in the Bryansk region of the Russian Federation, and has officially described the incident as an "act of terrorism". The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation has launched an investigation into the "terrorist attack".
This is stated in an official statement from the press service of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reports Censor.NET.
Accusations from Minsk
Minsk has blamed the Ukrainian side for the air strike, demanding "exhaustive explanations".
"We strongly condemn the attack on a civilian bus carrying Belarusian citizens, including children, in the Bryansk region of the Russian Federation. We regard this as yet another act of terrorism against the civilian population. We demand comprehensive explanations from the Ukrainian side," the statement from the Belarusian Foreign Ministry reads.
In the same statement, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry effectively acknowledged that the children’s trip had been organised in breach of basic safety standards.
The country’s Foreign Ministry separately drew attention to "the need for strict adherence to the procedures for organising group trips" and emphasised "the imperative of an unconditional ban on citizens travelling to conflict zones, areas of hostilities and neighbouring regions".
What is known about the incident near Bryansk
According to preliminary reports from the Russian local authorities, the incident took place in the Pochepsky District of the Bryansk Region of the Russian Federation. A coach carrying a children’s football team from Gomel in Belarus was struck by an unidentified drone. The teenagers were on their way to a holiday in Gelendzhik, Russia, but for some reason the organisers had planned a route that took them directly through a border region where armed clashes occur regularly and an air-raid alert is in force.
- It is reported that a woman accompanying the team was killed. The number of casualties has risen to seven. Five of them are children. One child is in a critical condition. All the casualties suffered shrapnel wounds.
As is now customary, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation promptly opened a criminal case under the article on "terrorist acts" (Article 205 of the Russian Criminal Code).
