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The Security Service of Ukraine says it has grounds to believe that the strike on a bus carrying Belarusian citizens in Russia’s Bryansk Oblast was a special operation conducted by Russian security services, UATV English reports.
According to the SSU, the conclusion is based on an information report from the monitoring center of the State Public Institution of Bryansk Region “Safe Region.” The document was reportedly obtained during Ukrainian counterintelligence activities.
“The report states that there were no Ukrainian UAVs in the district’s airspace at the time of the bus incident,” the SSU said.
According to the intercepted document:
- The so-called Regional Segment of the Operational Headquarters of the Unified National Center did not detect any UAVs in the area of the incident.
- The duty officer of the radar battalion in the Russian settlement of Suponyevo also did not confirm the presence of drones in the airspace.
- The duty officer of Russia’s 32nd Division likewise reported no unmanned aircraft activity during the relevant period.
“Therefore, the SSU has grounds to believe that the strike on the bus carrying Belarusian citizens in Bryansk Oblast was a special operation by Russian security services. We draw attention to the fact that the aggressor state has repeatedly accused Ukraine of crimes committed by Russian actors themselves. Such incidents are used by the Russian authorities to conduct information and psychological operations and to exert pressure on Ukraine in the international arena,” the SSU stated.
At the same time, the Ukrainian security service reiterated that Ukraine’s Defense and Security Forces strictly adhere to the laws and customs of war and operate exclusively against legitimate military targets.
Earlier, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine denied Russian claims that a Ukrainian drone had struck a bus carrying a children’s football team in Bryansk Oblast.
Read also: “If Ukraine Burns, Moscow Will Burn Too”: Zelenskyy on Retaliatory Strikes
