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Belarus’ decision not to respond immediately with force after a drone strike on a bus in Russia’s Bryansk region should not be interpreted as weakness or cowardice, Belarus’ Permanent Representative to the United Nations Valiantsin Rybakou said during a UN Security Council meeting convened over the incident. According to him, the attack was intended to escalate the conflict and draw Minsk into Russia’s war against Ukraine.
“Whoever carried out the strike on the Belarusian bus acted deliberately and provocatively. Such actions are consciously aimed at escalating the conflict and dragging Belarus into the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine. This is an attempt to create a pretext for pitting Belarus against Ukraine and involving our country in the war.
Any attempts to pressure or intimidate Belarus, including ultimatums and threats against our country and its leadership, are unacceptable.
We strongly advise against further testing the patience of the Belarusian side and under no circumstances interpreting the absence of an immediate harsh response as a sign of weakness, indecision, or cowardice,” he said.
Rybakou also commented on recent public statements by the Ukrainian leadership, accusing Kyiv of seeking to escalate the conflict.
“The impulsive public statements we have recently heard from Ukraine’s leadership demonstrate nothing more than a desire to further escalate the conflict,” he said.
According to Rybakou, Minsk and Kyiv continue to maintain confidential contacts aimed at finding common ground.
“A professional confidential dialogue between Minsk and Kyiv continues for the exchange of information and the search for common ground. This dialogue is producing results and will continue. Suffice it to say that all exchanges of prisoners of war and the bodies of the deceased between the Russian and Ukrainian sides take place with our assistance on the territory of the Republic of Belarus. All of this should be taken into account before making public accusations and staging provocations,” he added.
The Belarusian envoy also referred to repeated incidents involving drones entering Belarusian airspace and rejected accusations that Belarus is complicit in the war.
“As has been repeatedly reported, unmanned aerial vehicles have entered and continue to enter Belarusian airspace. Crashes of these UAVs have caused damage on our territory. A war involving the massive use of drones and electronic warfare systems is underway.
Today, accusations that Belarus is complicit in the conflict sound especially cynical when they come from states that spend billions of dollars supplying weapons to Ukraine, training military personnel, and providing intelligence. These countries are not merely accomplices but direct participants in the war and are doing everything possible to prolong it.
Belarus calls on the international community to provide an objective and impartial assessment of the attack on the bus carrying Belarusian citizens. Such crimes must not be ignored, and those responsible must not escape accountability,” he concluded.
Representing Russia at the meeting, Anna Yevstigneeva directly accused Ukraine of attacking the Belarusian bus, describing it as proof of what she called “the terrorist nature of the Zelenskyy regime.” She called on the UN Secretary-General and UN bodies to unequivocally condemn the attack.
Ukraine’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Khrystyna Haiovyshyn said her country had no interest in provoking Belarus or harming Belarusian citizens. She described the allegations as part of a “well-rehearsed disinformation campaign” that the Kremlin uses to divert attention from its own war crimes. According to her, the attack was intended to fuel hostility toward Ukraine among the Belarusian public.
The U.S. representative noted that Ukrainian officials had “categorically denied the claims that were used to justify today’s briefing.”
“Absent greater substantiation for these allegations, we caution against inflammatory rhetoric that only risks intensifying and expanding the war,” he said.
Instead, he called for urgent de-escalation and progress toward an immediate ceasefire.
The United Kingdom’s representative said that if Russia genuinely wanted to protect civilians, it would agree to a full, immediate, and unconditional ceasefire.