{"id":11578,"date":"2023-06-13T13:52:06","date_gmt":"2023-06-13T10:52:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/longreads\/no-sign-of-lasting-relationship-after-cichanouskajas-meeting-with-kalinouski-fighters\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","slug":"no-sign-of-lasting-relationship-after-cichanouskajas-meeting-with-kalinouski-fighters","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11578\/","title":{"rendered":"No sign of lasting relationship after Cichano\u016dskaja\u2019s meeting with Kalino\u016dski fighters"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n <span>By Alexander Friedman<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n <b><span>Opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja held a video conference with Kastu\u015b Kalino\u016dski Regiment (KKR) fighters last week.<\/span><\/b>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Both groups pin hopes for change in Belarus on Ukraine\u2019s success in its war with Russia. Cichanouskaja advocates peaceful transition assisted by the West, while the KKR is prepared to use arms against the regime. Despite the difference in approaches, cooperation between the two camps might be possible in the future.\n<\/p>\n<h2>Meeting arranged by Supreme Rada members<\/h2>\n<p>\n\t The conference was arranged by Ukrainian MPs Bogdan Yaremenko and Oleksiy Goncharenko.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t While the organizers and Cichano\u016dskaja would not comment on the substance of the talks, the KKR said that it had briefed the opposition leader on the regiment\u2019s strategy and was expecting some action from the opposition camp.\n<\/p>\n<h2>What Cichano\u016dskaja can offer KKR<\/h2>\n<p>\n\t Established after Russia\u2019s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the KKR shunned Cichano\u016dskaja until recently. Instead, it had some contacts with Zianon Pazniak, a former leader of the Belarusian Popular Front (BPF) currently in charge of the Volnaja Bie\u0142aru\u015b movement.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t In late January, Pazniak and his associates, Pavie\u0142 Usa\u016d and D\u017amitryj \u0160\u010dyhielski, met with KKR fighters in Bakhmut, Ukraine. A few weeks later, they held a joint news conference to announce a plan to establish a Security Council, a political wing of the KKR.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The KKR operates under Ukrainian command at the Ukrainian-Russian front and is popular among Belarusians who see the force of arms as the only realistic way to overthrow the Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka regime in Belarus.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Most KKR fighters are anti-Russian Belarusian nationalists. Pazniak is known for his anti-Russian rhetoric, and lately for his support for the use of force. Therefore, his February overtures to the KKR fighters did not come as a big surprise.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t However, the Ukrainian MPs seem to believe that ties between the KKR and Cichano\u016dskaja might have a greater impact. While Pazniak has found himself on the fringes of politics, Cichano\u016dskaja has greater political influence in the West.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Coordination with Cichano\u016dskaja could bolster the KKR\u2019s international reputation and possibly secure it access to additional resources. There are no ideological obstacles to contacts between the two groups.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Before Russia\u2019s full-scale war against Ukraine, the Belarusian opposition leader was stressing that she was open to negotiations with Moscow and that the anti-\u0141uka\u0161enka protests were not directed against Russia.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t After the invasion, she took a radical anti-Kremlin stance and is advocating a policy of disengagement from Moscow.\n<\/p>\n<h2>Why Cichano\u016dskaja needs KKR<\/h2>\n<p>\n\t Cichano\u016dskaja somewhat faded during the three years that passed after the 2020 presidential election. She has failed to dislodge the entrenched regime, allowing the Belarusian ruler to consolidate his power, while her campaign has been undercut by backbiting and warring camps. Recent political setbacks have disappointed opposition supporters both in Belarus and abroad.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Still, Cichano\u016dskaja remains a key political player with connections in Washington, London and other European capitals.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Although she has failed to establish constructive ties with the Ukrainian leadership, she and her associates hope that Ukraine\u2019s victory against Russia would be a harbinger of peaceful change in Belarus.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t On the other hand, Valieryj Sacha\u0161\u010dyk, Chichanouskaja\u2019s aide for defense, is said to have organized a commando unit within the Ukrainian Armed Forces. This might be evidence that the opposition camp does not discount the use of arms against the \u0141uka\u0161enka regime.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t In her interviews and statements, Cichano\u016dskaja emphasizes distinctions between \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s pro-Russian regime heavily involved in the Russian war against Ukraine, and the majority of Belarusians who oppose the Russian invasion and allegedly support Ukraine. The KKR fits well into the picture. Coordination with the KKR might help her establish herself as the leader of a broad-based opposition coalition.\n<\/p>\n<h2>KKR aligns policy with Kyiv, Cichano\u016dskaja with Brussels, Washington<\/h2>\n<p>\n\t The KKR would not engage with Cichano\u016dskaja until recently, aligning itself with Kyiv\u2019s cautious policy of avoiding contacts with Belarus\u2019 opposition in order not to provoke the Belarusian regime into deeper involvement in Russia\u2019s military campaign in Ukraine.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Cichano\u016dskaja, for her turn, has not been pushing for closer ties with the KKR because her US and European partners might have questioned her adherence to peaceful methods.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t French President Emmanuel Macron indicated at the May 31 forum in Bratislava that he was afraid of a spillover of hostilities to Belarus and opposed to the use of arms to unseat \u0141uka\u0161enka.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Close ties between Cichano\u016dskaja and the KKR are unlikely at present because the regiment relies on armed resistance and reports to Kyiv, while the former Belarusian presidential candidate coordinates her efforts with Western partners.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Ukraine\u2019s breakthrough at the frontline would be conducive to rapprochement between the two groupings of the Belarusian opposition.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t &nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Alexander Friedman Opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja held a video conference with Kastu\u015b Kalino\u016dski Regiment (KKR) fighters last week. Both groups pin hopes for change in Belarus on Ukraine\u2019s success in its war with Russia. Cichanouskaja advocates peaceful transition assisted by the West, while the KKR is prepared to use arms against the regime. Despite [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[24],"class_list":["post-11578","longreads","type-longreads","status-publish","hentry","rubric-theviewer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>No sign of lasting relationship after Cichano\u016dskaja\u2019s meeting with Kalino\u016dski fighters | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Alexander Friedman Opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja held a video conference with Kastu\u015b Kalino\u016dski Regiment (KKR) fighters last week. Both\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11578\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"No sign of lasting relationship after Cichano\u016dskaja\u2019s meeting with Kalino\u016dski fighters | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Alexander Friedman Opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja held a video conference with Kastu\u015b Kalino\u016dski Regiment (KKR) fighters last week. Both\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11578\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-24T20:29:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Pozirk_online\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11578\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11578\/\"},\"headline\":\"No sign of lasting relationship after Cichano\u016dskaja\u2019s meeting with Kalino\u016dski fighters\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-06-13T10:52:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-24T20:29:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11578\/\"},\"wordCount\":811,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11578\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11578\/\",\"name\":\"No sign of lasting relationship after Cichano\u016dskaja\u2019s meeting with Kalino\u016dski fighters | Pozirk\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-06-13T10:52:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-24T20:29:13+00:00\",\"description\":\"By Alexander Friedman Opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja held a video conference with Kastu\u015b Kalino\u016dski Regiment (KKR) fighters last week. Both\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11578\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11578\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11578\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"No sign of lasting relationship after Cichano\u016dskaja\u2019s meeting with Kalino\u016dski fighters\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Pozirk\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Pozirk\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Pozirk\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/Pozirk_online\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"No sign of lasting relationship after Cichano\u016dskaja\u2019s meeting with Kalino\u016dski fighters | Pozirk","description":"By Alexander Friedman Opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja held a video conference with Kastu\u015b Kalino\u016dski Regiment (KKR) fighters last week. Both","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11578\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"No sign of lasting relationship after Cichano\u016dskaja\u2019s meeting with Kalino\u016dski fighters | Pozirk","og_description":"By Alexander Friedman Opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja held a video conference with Kastu\u015b Kalino\u016dski Regiment (KKR) fighters last week. Both","og_url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11578\/","og_site_name":"Pozirk","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/","article_modified_time":"2026-02-24T20:29:13+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@Pozirk_online","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11578\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11578\/"},"headline":"No sign of lasting relationship after Cichano\u016dskaja\u2019s meeting with Kalino\u016dski fighters","datePublished":"2023-06-13T10:52:06+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-24T20:29:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11578\/"},"wordCount":811,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11578\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11578\/","name":"No sign of lasting relationship after Cichano\u016dskaja\u2019s meeting with Kalino\u016dski fighters | Pozirk","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-06-13T10:52:06+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-24T20:29:13+00:00","description":"By Alexander Friedman Opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja held a video conference with Kastu\u015b Kalino\u016dski Regiment (KKR) fighters last week. Both","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11578\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11578\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11578\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"No sign of lasting relationship after Cichano\u016dskaja\u2019s meeting with Kalino\u016dski fighters"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/","name":"Pozirk","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization","name":"Pozirk","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Pozirk"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/","https:\/\/x.com\/Pozirk_online"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/longreads\/11578","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/longreads"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/longreads"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"rubric","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rubric?post=11578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}