Russian propagandists fabricated a drone strike on a tourist bus. But there are mysterious trucks in the story
Russian media fabricated a Ukrainian Armed Forces drone strike on a Minsk — Anapa tourist bus in the Bryansk region. The photo of the strike's aftermath was generated by artificial intelligence, and there was no actual strike on the bus, believes the «Flagstok» publication, citing evidence supporting this version.
Flagstok's Infographic
«Flagstok» drew attention to a Belarusian television report, which shows the situation immediately after the drone attack. Two demonstrated frames allow for the reconstruction of events. The UAV struck a group of three trucks with semi-trailers parked in a lot — they were standing 12 meters from the bus.
The strike hit the middle DAF truck, located approximately 12 meters from the bus. After which the truck caught fire, and other trucks and the bus managed to drive away before the fire spread. According to state media, the burned truck had Belarusian registration. There were no reports of injured truck drivers; they likely exited their cabs.
The bus indeed had broken windows, but this likely occurred due to the blast wave from the strike on the DAF truck, and not from a direct hit.
What was inside the DAF truck that burned down as a result of the strike is unknown. However, initially, reports of a strike on a bus appeared in a number of regional and major Russian media outlets. And for some reason, they completely omitted mentioning the truck, instead deliberately focusing on the civilian bus.
In the first hours, photos of the damaged bus were not published (it soon became clear why — there was no strike on the front part, as initially stated), and then fake photos of the Belarusian bus appeared, likely created with the help of artificial intelligence. The fake image showed a bus from a fictitious company Intercars, while the incident actually involved a bus from the transport company «Stalitsa».
Bus image generated by artificial intelligence
Real photo of the bus, shown on Belarusian television
«Thus, it can be argued that the network of Russian media and Telegram channels deliberately spread falsehoods by reporting a targeted strike on the front part of the Belarusian bus, and simultaneously concealed the real picture of events,» concludes «Flagstok».