Ukraine’s Zhytomyr names street after Belarusian volunteers

June 29, BPN. The Zhytomyr City Council has renamed Biloruska Street after the Kastuś Kalinoŭski Regiment, a military unit formed of Belarusian fighters in Ukraine, the city’s press office reports.

Mayor Serhiy Sukhomlyn presented Zhytomyr’s flag to the Kalinoŭski Regiment’s soldiers.

“When Belarusians liberate their country from occupation, this flag will go to the Belarusian city which will become a sister city of Zhytomyr,” he said. “I thank all the guys from the Kalinoŭski Regiment who have been defending Ukraine’s independence.”

Belarus has a “common enemy” with Ukraine as it is “occupied by Russia and the [Alaksandr] Łukašenka regime,” the regiment’s representatives said.

In October 2022, Kyiv authorities renamed over 40 streets, alleys and squares whose names were linked to Russia or the Soviet past. Among others, they renamed Astrakhanskaya Street in honor of Kastuś Kalinoŭski, the Belarusian leader of the anti-Russian uprising in 1863.

Belarusian volunteers formed the Kastuś Kalinoŭski Regiment in March 2022, initially as a battalion. Its stated mission is to liberate Belarus by defending Ukraine.