October 10, Pozirk. Kyiv pushed back against angry rhetoric from Minsk following Thursday’s drone attack on a Belarusian truck in Russia, warning that Belarus should refrain from making baseless accusations against Ukraine and describing Belarus as an “accomplice to a crime of aggression.”
In a statement on its website, the Ukrainian foreign ministry expresses puzzlement over Minsk’s claim that Belarus is being “deliberately drawn into the conflict” and its suggestion that it might take “appropriate measures in response.”
The ministry condemns “attempts to shift responsibility for the consequences of Russian aggression, to portray Ukraine as a source of threats to Belarus, and to deliberately escalate tensions in the region.” The ministry urges Belarus to “refrain from baseless accusations, threats, and information manipulation and warns against using the incident to “justify Minsk’s continued support for Russian aggression or to create additional threats to Ukraine.”
On October 9, the Belarusian foreign ministry summoned Ukraine’s Chargé d’Affaires Ivan Novytsky over the attack, in which a Belarusian woman reportedly sustained serious injuries that resulted in the amputation of her limbs.
A formal note of protest was handed to Novytsky, with Minsk saying that Kyiv had previously been warned of the inadmissibility of such actions. The Belarusian origin of the vehicle was clear, which gives Belarus grounds to consider the attack deliberate, the foreign ministry’s Telegram channel quoted spokesperson Rusłan Varankoŭ as saying.
The Ukrainian side “has been warned against repeating such actions” and would bear full responsibility for any consequences, Varankoŭ said, adding that Minsk “reserves the right to take appropriate countermeasures.”
In a statement released on October 8, Varankoŭ described the incident as “part of coordinated actions aimed at drawing Belarus into the conflict” and called for an end to “provocations” that could escalate tensions.
At least three drone attacks on Belarusian motor vehicles in Russia have been reported in recent months.
One person was reportedly killed and eight people, including six children, suffered blast injuries when a drone attacked a Belarusian bus carrying children in Russia’s Bryansk province on June 17. While warning against drawing premature conclusions, Alaksandar Łukašenka on June 18 blamed the strike on a Ukrainian drone.
On July 2, the Belarusian health ministry reported that two drivers and one passenger were injured a drone attack on a Belarusian bus in Russia earlier in the day. Boris Gryzlov, the Russian ambassador to Belarus, described it as “a deliberate strike” by Ukraine, while Alaksandar Valfovič, state secretary of Belarus’ Security Council, dismissed it as an accident.
On September 25 and 26, two Belarusian trucks were hit by attack drones in Russia near the Krasny Kamen border checkpoint, independent news outlet Flagshtok reported, adding that the drivers were not hurt. There was no official confirmation of the incident.
