Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya says a new mission in Kyiv marks a closer partnership with Ukraine aimed at weakening Russian influence over Belarus and supporting a democratic future.
Belarusian democratic forces are intensifying cooperation with Ukraine as part of an effort to move Belarus away from dictatorship and Russian influence, opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said on June 10.
Speaking at a meeting of the Czech Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Tsikhanouskaya said her movement had recently opened a mission in Kyiv, similar to the Belarusian democratic forces’ existing representation in the Czech Republic, Ukrinform reported.
“We are now beginning a close cooperation with Ukraine to bring Belarus out from under dictatorship and Russian influence,” Tsikhanouskaya said. “We currently do not have our own state under our feet; it is effectively occupied, but we have a people who want freedom, who support Ukraine and want a European future.”
Kyiv Mission Signals Closer Belarus-Ukraine Alignment
Tsikhanouskaya said the Kyiv mission was opened two weeks before her remarks in Prague. She described the Belarusian democratic struggle as “not a sprint, but a long marathon,” framing cooperation with Ukraine as part of a broader regional effort against authoritarian rule.
Her comments followed what she described as her first official visit to Kyiv at the invitation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. During that visit, she said she met Zelensky, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry officials, and Belarusian volunteers and veterans fighting for Ukraine in the war against Russian invasion troops.
According to Tsikhanouskaya, hundreds of Belarusians are currently defending Ukraine, and more than 90 have died.
She called the visit a turning point for Belarusians, saying Ukraine had sent a signal not only to Russian ruler Vladimir Putin and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, but also to Belarusian society.
Call for Pressure on Minsk and Moscow
Tsikhanouskaya also urged European governments to maintain and strengthen pressure on both Minsk and Moscow.
“There is a very simple truth: dictators cannot be appeased and they cannot be reformed,” she said. “This applies to both Putin and Lukashenko. And if we are to talk with them, it should be from a position of strength.”
She said sanctions were “not a magic wand” but described them as a tool to change the behavior of authoritarian regimes and weaken their capacity to act.
Tsikhanouskaya also called for efforts to hold Lukashenko accountable, including through the International Criminal Court and through Belarus’s inclusion in a Special Tribunal for Ukraine.
Support for Ukraine Remains Central
Tsikhanouskaya thanked the Czech Senate for its support for Belarusian citizens and Ukraine. She said that in recent weeks she had met with the prime ministers of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and other countries, and had urged each government to provide Ukraine with everything needed for victory.
Her remarks place Ukraine at the center of the Belarusian democratic movement’s regional strategy. For Tsikhanouskaya, support for Ukraine directly shapes Belarus’s future and Europe’s wider security.
Analysis
Tsikhanouskaya’s statement suggests a sharper political alignment between Belarusian democratic forces and Kyiv. The opening of a mission in Ukraine gives that relationship an institutional form and signals that the Belarusian opposition views Ukraine’s war effort as directly connected to Belarus’s own struggle against authoritarian rule and Russian domination.
The remarks also reinforce a consistent message from Tsikhanouskaya: Lukashenko’s regime should not be treated as an isolated domestic dictatorship but as part of a broader Russian-backed security threat to Europe.
What remains unclear is the practical scope of the new Kyiv mission, including its staffing, mandate, and coordination with Ukrainian institutions. The political message, however, is clear: Belarusian democratic forces are seeking to place themselves more firmly inside Ukraine’s regional coalition against Russian influence.
Tsikhanouskaya’s announcement marks a further step in the Belarusian opposition’s cooperation with Ukraine. By linking Belarus’s democratic future to Ukraine’s victory and European security, she presents the struggle against Lukashenko and the struggle against Russian influence as one connected regional challenge.
