Ukraine denies Russian claim that Ukrainian drone struck bus carrying Belarusian children's football team

Ukraine's General Staff has denied Russian claims that a Ukrainian drone struck a bus carrying a Belarusian children's football team in Russia's Bryansk Oblast on June 17, calling the claim "yet another information provocation."

"The Armed Forces of Ukraine engage exclusively lawful military targets and do not conduct combat operations against the civilian population," the General Staff said.

Belarusian Health Minister Alexander Khodzhaev said eight people were injured in the alleged attack, including six children, two of whom were in serious condition. A woman was killed, he said.

Earlier on June 17, acting Bryansk Oblast Governor Yegor Kovalchuk initially claimed that a woman was killed and six people, including four children, were injured.

The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify whether a drone struck the bus or who was responsible.

The bus was transporting the football team from Gomel, a city in Belarus, to the Russian resort city of Gelendzhik, according to Kovalchuk.

In total, there were 44 passengers on the bus, including 28 children. Kovalchuk said that medical and psychological assistance was provided and that medics from Moscow were traveling to Bryansk.

Belarusian independent media outlet Nasha Niva reported that the woman killed in the attack is 44-year-old Victoriya Hrytsenka (Garoshka).

Victoriya accompanied the children on the bus; she is the wife of Alyaksei Garoshka, the coach at Children's and Youth Sports School No. 2 in the Rechitsa District of Gomel. Nasha Niva has also reported that Alyaksei is "most likely currently injured and in serious condition."

The General Staff said that Ukraine's Defense Forces had not deployed drones against targets in Bryansk Oblast at the time of the alleged attack.

"We regard such reports as yet another information provocation orchestrated 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 the fabrication of accusations against Ukraine," it added.

Russia's Bryansk Oblast neighbours Ukraine's north. Military targets inside Bryansk Oblast are regularly attacked by Ukrainian drones. On May 25, Ukrainian forces struck and damaged the Belets oil depot in the Oblast, the General Staff said.

The press office of Belarus' Foreign Ministry said it strongly condemned the alleged attack on a civilian bus carrying Belarusian citizens, including children.

The Russian Investigative Committee released a video allegedly showing the damaged bus and the surrounding scene.

The General Staff also said that Russia "systematically violates the norms of international humanitarian law by launching strikes against Ukrainian cities, residential areas, hospitals, schools, and other civilian infrastructure."

Russia carries out daily air attacks across Ukraine, killing and injuring dozens of civilians each day. May 2026 was the deadliest month since April 2022, according to a June 12 report by the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU).

The mission verified at least 274 civilian deaths and 1,763 injuries during the month, marking the highest monthly casualty toll recorded in the past four years.

Relations between Kyiv and Minsk deteriorated sharply after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Belarus allowed Russian troops to use its territory to stage the assault on Ukraine's capital in early 2022, drawing widespread international condemnation.

Russia has since continued to use Belarusian territory for strikes against Ukraine, often involving Shahed-type drones.

In recent months, Ukrainian officials have repeatedly warned that Moscow could once again seek to use Belarusian territory for military operations.