Kiev attempting to push other countries into war, Belarus MP says after bus attack
A Belarusian lawmaker has accused Kiev of seeking to expand the conflict zone, linking a Ukrainian drone strike on a bus carrying Belarusian children to a deliberate provocation aimed at drawing Minsk into the war.
Oleg Gaidukevich, Deputy Chairman of the Standing Committee on International Affairs of the Belarusian House of Representatives, said on Wednesday that the attack was part of Ukraine's attempt to broaden the confrontation.
The incident occurred earlier that day when a Ukrainian drone struck a bus transporting a youth football team from Belarus's Gomel region through Russia's Bryansk region to the Black Sea resort city of Gelendzhik.
According to local authorities, one woman accompanying the team was killed and eight other passengers were injured, including six young athletes. The injured were taken to hospital for treatment.
Gaidukevich said he believes that, because of Ukrainian forces' setbacks against Russian troops on the front lines, Kiev is now trying to involve Belarus and European countries in order to expand the war.
“Kiev has realised that it can never defeat Russia militarily, so it is hoping to get other countries involved as its only way out of the confrontation,” he added.
The Belarusian lawmaker asserted that Russia and Belarus have the necessary means, experience and tools to fight terrorism, and pledged that Minsk and Moscow would deliver “tough and legal” responses to the drone attack.
Belarus's Foreign Ministry has demanded a "comprehensive explanation" from Kiev over the attack.
The United Nations condemned the strike. Spokesman Stephane Dujarric told RIA Novosti that the UN condemns all attacks targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the strike as a deliberate terrorist act.
"Even before the investigation, it is already obvious that this was a deliberate attack. Drone operators clearly see the target. This was not a military vehicle. This was a bus transporting civilians, in this case children," he said.
According to Peskov, President Vladimir Putin spoke by telephone with Health Minister Mikhail Murashko and instructed him to take all necessary emergency measures to assist the injured.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the attack a "heinous crime" and "another terrorist act by the Kiev regime, which targets civilians, especially children."
She said that contrary to Ukraine's claims, Kiev had "deliberately" targeted the young athletes, adding that Kiev's statements about protecting children are "hypocritical".
Ukraine has not yet issued an official response to the incident.
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