Russia accuses Ukraine of bus drone strike

Russia accused Ukraine of a deadly drone strike on a bus carrying Belarusian schoolchildren in Russia's Bryansk region, an allegation Ukraine's military denied as 'false'. Yegor Kovalchuk, acting governor of Bryansk, claimed the bus was deliberately targeted while transporting a children's soccer team from Belarus to southern Russia. Russia's Foreign Ministry called it a 'monstrous crime', reporting one woman killed and eight others, including six children, injured. The Russia — General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation stated its forces did not use drones in Bryansk Oblast during the specified period, labeling the accusation an 'information provocation'. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko ordered the airlift of injured Belarusian nationals and publicly apologized to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for past criticism, while ruling out Belarus entering Russia's war against Ukraine. Russian investigators opened a terrorism probe into the incident. Reuters could not independently verify the claims, as both sides deny targeting civilians.