"Russians Have Come Up With an Even More Elaborate Plot": Expert Explains How Putin Is Trying to Drag Belarus Into the War

Political strategist Mikhail Sheitelman said that the Russians fabricated a story about an alleged Ukrainian drone strike on a bus carrying Belarusian children in order to draw Belarus into the war, but Lukashenko is not falling for it, according to Politeka.

He spoke about this on his blog.

“The Russians have not given up hope of dragging Belarus into the war. To achieve this, they even came up with ‘Starobilsk 2’ — a bus carrying Belarusian children in the Bryansk region. The previous attempt failed because, first, there were no children, and second, all the events took place on Ukrainian territory. Starobilsk, let me remind you, is in Ukraine. Therefore, the international community showed no interest in it whatsoever — what happens in Starobilsk is Ukraine’s internal affair, none of your business. Now the Russians have devised an even more elaborate plot. A bus carrying Belarusian children was allegedly traveling to Gelendzhik for vacation, and the TV Rain website reported: ‘A Ukrainian drone struck it.’ On what basis did they conclude that it was a Ukrainian drone? Did TV Rain correspondents in the Bryansk region determine that?” Sheitelman said.

First, he noted, Belarusians should not send their children to Russia for vacations because it is a combat zone, something even Lukashenko’s government understands. According to the expert, Belarus’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that travel by citizens — especially children — to conflict zones, active combat areas, and adjacent regions should be avoided. Belarusian authorities also said that private carriers had chosen an unsafe route.

Second, he emphasized that Ukraine immediately stated that the Armed Forces of Ukraine had not used drones in that region at the time of the incident. Later, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) released a Russian document in which Russian authorities themselves acknowledged that there had been no Ukrainian drones in the area of the incident, which, he said, fully confirms this claim.

“So what was it, and why? The Russians are trying to turn Belarusians against Ukrainians; they are trying to drag Belarus into the war. ‘Look what they are doing to your children...’ Even Lukashenko understands this: ‘Attempts at provocations and efforts to involve Belarus in the Russia–Ukraine conflict will end badly for those who initiate them. We are behaving calmly. Some people do not like the fact that Belarus is a peaceful state. That is why all of this is happening. We hear statements, justifications, and various versions, but we need the truth.’ In other words, Lukashenko is effectively accusing Putin directly of having bombed that bus,” Mikhail Sheitelman concluded.

Latest news:

Let's remember Politeka wrote, Expert Explains Why Europe Is Providing Ukraine with War Aid: “It’s the Greatest Shield”

Politeka also informed, He became one of the brightest figures in Polish politics: Sławomir Majman talks about the new president of Poland

In addition, Politeka informed, Expert Explains Whether the West Can Destroy Russia’s Shadow Fleet