Russian authorities reported this Wednesday the death of a woman in an attack attributed to Ukrainian forces against a bus carrying a Belarusian children's football team on its way to the city of Gelendzhik, in the Russian region of Bryansk.
The interim governor of the area, Yegor Kovalchuk, stated that the impact caused the death of a woman who "accompanies the team" and detailed that six other people were injured, "including four children," according to data released by the TASS news agency.
According to Kovalchuk, the team was traveling by road from the Belarusian city of Gomel and all the injured were "quickly" evacuated to a nearby hospital, where they are receiving the necessary medical attention.
The Investigative Committee of Russia has announced the opening of a criminal case for this attack, which is attributed to the Ukrainian Army. There were 44 people on board the bus, 28 of whom were minors.
The Russian Government has condemned the incident and described the attack as an "abominable crime" committed by "the regime of Volodymyr Zelensky, who, despite his hypocritical statements about his alleged commitment to the defense of children, consciously and undoubtedly puts them in danger," according to Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
In this regard, Moscow "calls on international organizations, governments, and the entire international community to give a fair assessment of the crimes of the Zelensky regime and to condemn in the strongest terms this terrorist attack."
Russian authorities have conveyed their condolences to the families of the victims and the injured, as well as to the relatives of the deceased woman. "We are in direct contact with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus and the country's Embassy in Moscow," Zakharova indicated.
The Russian ambassador in Minsk, Boris Gryzlov, assured that the attack was carried out in a "completely deliberate" manner and described it as an "inhuman act of terrorism." He promised that Russia "will identify and remember the names of all those involved in this atrocious act against innocent children and civilians," according to his Telegram channel.
"They will not be able to avoid punishment," warned Grizlov, who accuses Ukrainian forces of aiming "precisely and directly at the passenger bus." "It was impossible for them to miss, it could not be confused with any military equipment. They knew perfectly well what they were doing," he added.
For its part, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus has also repudiated the attack on a "civilian bus" with "Belarusian citizens on board, including children," which it has defined as a "terrorist" act. "We demand a thorough explanation from Ukraine," it stated.
The Belarusian statement emphasizes that, "in relation to this tragic incident, we consider it important to highlight the need to adhere to the established procedures for organizing trips of civilian groups, especially when they are children, to third countries." The text also insists that "we also clarify the absolute prohibition of traveling to conflict or combat zones, in addition to adjacent regions."