Amid Mounting Tensions Between Kyiv And Minsk, Belarus Opposition Leader Tsikhanouskaya Visits Ukraine
Her first official visit includes meetings with Zelenskyy, Ukrainian lawmakers and EU diplomats, plus the opening of a Belarusian democratic mission.
- On Monday, May 25, 2026, exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya arrived in Kyiv for her first official visit to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and discuss how Belarusian society can support Ukraine's defense.
- Immediately upon arriving, Tsikhanouskaya visited the Lukianivska Military Cemetery to honor Maria Zaitseva, a 24-year-old Belarusian volunteer killed fighting for Ukraine. She wrote that honoring Zaitseva symbolized "resistance to dictatorship" and shared Ukrainian-Belarusian solidarity.
- Formal engagements include meetings with Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and the Verkhovna Rada leadership, as well as the opening of the Mission of the Belarusian Democratic Forces in Ukraine alongside EU diplomats.
- Ukraine's eventual victory offers the greatest opportunity for Belarusians to liberate their country from Alexander Lukashenko, Tsikhanouskaya stated, arguing that Belarus's future depends heavily on the war's outcome.
- Amidst heightened regional tensions, the visit follows recent Russian-Belarusian nuclear exercises and security measures, with French President Emmanuel Macron having warned Lukashenko against further involvement in the Russian war.
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Leaders keep a wary eye on Belarus for any signs it might offer Russia help in Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Belarus' exiled opposition leader visited Kyiv on Monday as the Ukrainian capital cleaned up after Russia’s biggest missile attack of the year, and world leaders kept
The Ukrainian President strongly warns against an offensive by Russia from Belarus. The opposition leader of the northern neighbour expressed her solidarity and travelled to Kyiv.
From hedging to solidarity: how Belarus’s exiled opposition came to stand with Ukraine
Today, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya paid her first official visit in Kyiv. It marks a milestone in relations between Ukraine and the Belarusian democracy movement.Since Aliaksandr Lukashenka crushed the 2020 protests and handed Russia a staging ground for its 2022 invasion, Belarus's opposition has operated entirely from exile. Independent political parties have been banned. Most leading figures spent years in prison. The December 2025 prisoner rele…
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