"This Is A Reaction To Lukashenko's Remarks"

• 19.06.2026, 11:10

Is the attack on a bus carrying children in the Bryansk Region really a Kremlin provocation?

Alexander Kovalenko , a Ukrainian military and political analyst with the "Information Resistance" group , believes that the attack on a bus carrying Belarusian children in the Bryansk region is a provocation by the Kremlin. The website Charter97.org asked an expert what goal Moscow and Minsk might be pursuing by accusing Ukraine:

— This is precisely a provocation on the part of the Russian Federation. Especially given that just the day before, Lukashenko had burst out with apologies to Zelenskyy and assured in an interview that he would not attack Ukraine. He understands perfectly well that Ukraine is not a country Belarus can attack, because the consequences for Belarus would be catastrophic.

Apparently, the Kremlin didn’t like that. So they decided to stir up Minsk in this way and set a precedent. On the one hand, this is a scenario for dragging Belarus into a war against Ukraine. On the other, it demonstrates that the Kremlin continues to keep Lukashenko on a tight leash.

Thus, first and foremost, this is a continuation of a strategy that has remained unchanged since 2022: creating various kinds of provocative incidents linked to the Kremlin’s attempts to drag Belarus into a war against Ukraine and force it to do so.

Second, the Kremlin clearly did not like Lukashenko’s remarks about Zelenskyy, his apologies, and his assurances that no one would attack Ukraine from Belarusian territory again. Evidently, the Kremlin attempted to respond to Lukashenko’s remarks in this manner.