Ukrainian drone injures two aboard Belarusian tourist bus travelling through Russia
Details of the Drone Attack and Reactions
Incident Overview
MOSCOW, July 2 (Reuters) - A Ukrainian drone attack injured two people travelling aboard a tourist bus from the Belarusian capital Minsk to the Russian Black Sea resort town of Anapa on Thursday, Russian state media reported.
Location and Immediate Impact
Krasniy Kamen Border Crossing
The government in Russia's Bryansk region, on the borders of Ukraine and Belarus, told Sputnik Belarus news agency that two drivers suffered minor injuries in the attack, which occurred at the Krasniy Kamen border crossing between Russia and Belarus.
Official Responses
Ukrainian Denial
Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine's Centre for Countering Disinformation (CCD), a branch of the National Security Council, denied that Kyiv had attacked the bus, calling the Russian statements "provocations" and a false-flag operation.
Background of Regional Attacks
Bryansk and the neighbouring Kursk region regularly come under Ukrainian shelling, resulting in injuries and deaths of local residents and damage to local infrastructure.
Context of Recent Incidents
Previous Bus Attack Allegations
Belarusian Schoolchildren Incident
Russia accused Ukraine of conducting a deadly drone strike on a bus carrying Belarusian schoolchildren in a separate incident in the Bryansk region last month. Ukraine's military denied attacking the bus, which was transporting members of a youth soccer team from Belarus to southern Russia.
Ongoing Conflict and Drone Strikes
Russia has regularly hit Ukrainian towns and cities such as Kyiv since it began its war in Ukraine in February 2022. Both Russia and Ukraine deny they strike civilian targets.
Kyiv has increased drone strikes on Russia in recent months to try to weaken Moscow's economy and force an end to a war in which thousands of Ukrainian civilians have been killed.
Reporting Credits
(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Lucy Papachristou, Editing by William Maclean and Gareth Jones )
