June 22, Pozirk. The deadly drone strike on a Belarusian bus in Russia last week was designed to pit Belarus against Ukraine and provoke “some kind of a negative situation,” Alaksandar Valfovič, state secretary of Belarus’ Security Council, has said.
“It doesn’t matter whose bus it was, Belarusian, Russian or from some other country. It’s a bus carrying civilians,” the defense ministry’s press office quoted him as saying.
Alaksandar Łukašenka is keeping the situation under control and issued the “necessary instructions,” Valfovič added. “Our security services and the Investigative Committee are conducting a very thorough investigation. All the facts will be analyzed,” the official said.
“A decision will be made, but dragging Belarus into the conflict will not work,” he stressed. “We believe in peace, prudence and the resolution of all issues through diplomatic channels.”
On June 17, a Belarusian tour bus carrying 44 passengers, including 28 minors enrolled in a soccer program, was hit by a drone in Russia. Viktoryja Haroška, the wife of a coach from the Rečyca sports school for children, was killed in the attack. Six other people, including five children, were wounded.
While warning against drawing premature conclusions, Łukašenka blamed the strike on a Ukrainian drone.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine denied involvement, stating that Ukrainian forces did not use unmanned aerial vehicles against targets in Russia’s Bryansk province on the day the bus was hit.
