St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov mentioned the war in Ukraine while awarding awards to passers-by who participated in rescuing the passengers of a drowning bus. His speech is quoted by Fontanka.
“Today we are also heroes, because we are helping our soldiers who are taking part in a special military operation. Today Russia is not at war with the Ukrainians, Americans, British, French — no. Today Russia is at war with world evil,” the official said at the ceremony.
On the afternoon of May 10, on the embankment of the Moika River in St. Petersburg, a bus crashed into two cars, broke through the fence of the Potseluev Bridge and fell into the water. There were eight passengers on the bus at the time of the accident, seven of whom died. The driver, Rakhmatshoh Kurbonov, also survived, talking about problems with the bus's brakes. He was sent to a pre-trial detention center.
The bus that fell into the Moika was created by the Volgabus company. In 2023, the authorities of St. Petersburg temporarily suspended the use of buses from this company because fires often occurred in their interiors.
Accident in St. Petersburg