May 25, Pozirk. Belarusian opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja has arrived in Kyiv by train this morning, her press office reports.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky invited the politician to visit Ukraine during their first bilateral meeting in Vilnius four months ago.
Ahead of the visit, Cichanoŭsksaja expressed support for Ukrainians after the May 24 overnight attack by Russia. “This Russian terror against civilians, enabled by [Alaksandar] Łukašenka’s regime, must be condemned in the strongest terms. Ukraine needs more support. The criminal aggressors must be held accountable,” she said on X.
Her aide Dzianis Kučynski told Pozirk that the visit would primarily focus on ways to “provide more assistance to Ukraine “The future of Belarus, as well as the future of Lithuania, Poland, and the entire region, depends in part on Ukraine,” he noted. “Therefore, helping Ukraine as much as possible is undoubtedly a crucial priority.”
Pavieł Łatuška, deputy head of the opposition transition cabinet, and Valeryj Mackievič from the cabinet’s team, accompanied Cichanoŭskaja as she laid flowers on the grave of Belarusian volunteer Maryjaa Zajcava, who was killed near Bakhmut in southeastern Ukraine. “She symbolizes not only our resistance to dictatorship, but also Ukrainian-Belarusian solidarity,” the politician said.
Cichanoŭskaja’s visit comes amid heightened attention in Kyiv toward Belarus. In recent weeks, Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials have repeatedly warned that Russia is renewing efforts to draw Minsk more directly into the war, cautioning Łukašenka and his officials about the potential consequences of such a move.
