Russia accuses Ukraine of attacking bus carrying schoolchildren, Kyiv denies it
A view of a bus which, according to local authorities, was attacked by a Ukrainian drone whilst carrying children from a Belarusian youth football team, in the Bryansk Region, Russia June 17, 2026.
Moscow. Russia accused Ukraine of conducting a deadly drone strike on a bus carrying Belarusian schoolchildren on Wednesday, an allegation that Ukraine's military said was "false".
Yegor Kovalchuk, the acting governor of Russia's Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, said the bus had been taking a children's soccer team for a holiday in southern Russia from Belarus.
Kovalchuk, writing on Telegram, said he had visited those injured in the incident which he described as a "completely deliberate strike on civilian transport on a busy highway".
Russia's Foreign Ministry, which called the attack "another monstrous crime," said a woman accompanying the children had been killed and that eight others, including six children, had been injured.
The Ukrainian military's General Staff denied the Russian allegation, saying on Telegram that "during the specified period, the Defence Forces of Ukraine did not employ unmanned aerial vehicles against targets in Bryansk Oblast."
Reuters was unable to verify the report. Both sides deny targeting civilians.
Belarusian Health Minister Alexander Khodzhayev, quoted by the state news agency Belta, said two people, an adult and a child, were in serious condition.
