Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya arrived in Kyiv on May 25 for her first trip to Ukraine in more than four years. She laid flowers at the Kyiv grave of Maria Zaytsava, a Belarusian protest participant in Minsk who was killed while fighting for Ukraine in 2025. Her meetings with top Ukrainian officials focused on how Belarusians and Belarusian society can help Ukraine. She said Ukraine’s victory would create the greatest opportunity for Belarusians to liberate Belarus and live without dictatorship. The visit occurred amid rising tensions between Kyiv and Minsk, including heightened Ukrainian security measures near Belarus and concerns about a Russian-Belarusian nuclear training exercise. Belarus has allowed Russian forces to use its territory but has not committed its own forces to the war.
"I am going to Ukraine with the question of how we, as Belarusians, as a society, can help Ukraine. We all understand that the results of the war will greatly affect the situation in Belarus,"
"If Ukraine wins, it will be the greatest opportunity for Belarusians inside the country to liberate Belarus. Because, of course, our fate largely depends on the fate of Ukraine, and all Belarusians want to live well, want to live without dictatorship, want to live freely,"
"Since February 2022, Belarus has played a reluctant, backseat role in the Russian invasion. Strongman leader Aleksandr Lukashenko allowed Russian forces to use Belarusian territory for the attacks, and Belarusian hospitals have treated wounded Russian soldiers. But Lukashenko has refused to commit Belarus's own forces to the fight, despite Russian requests, and he has also tried to position himself as a mediator between Ukraine and the West on one side and Russia on the other."
"The trip comes as tensions are ratcheting up between Kyiv and Minsk. Ukraine recently ordered heightened security measures in northern regions bordering Belarus, and Ukrainian and European officials have been concerned over a major Russian-Belarusian nuclear training exercise that just concluded."
#ukraine-belarus-relations #russian-invasion #belarusian-opposition #nuclear-training #kyiv-security
Read at RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty
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