Fate of Belarus, Ukraine are ‘interconnected;’ both countries must fight together to safeguard their very existence: Belarus Opposition leader Sviatlana

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who fled to Lithuania after Russian ally Alexander Lukashenko claimed victory in disputed August 2020 elections, said “there will be no free Belarus without free Ukraine.”

The fate of Belarus and Ukraine are “interconnected,” and both countries must fight together to safeguard their very existence because Russia doesn’t view them as independent sovereign states, Belarus' Opposition leader said on September 23.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who fled to Lithuania after Russian ally Alexander Lukashenko claimed victory in disputed August 2020 elections that many thought she won, said in an interview with The Associated Press that “there will be no free Belarus without free Ukraine.”

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As long as Russian President Vladimir Putin is in power, she said on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, there will be constant security threats to Ukraine — and to Belarus’ western border. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya said neither country wants to be part of another Russian empire.

“So Belarus is part of this problem and this problem, this crisis, has to be solved in this context,” she said.

Mr. Lukashenko had to support Russia after its February 24 invasion of Ukraine, she said, because Mr. Putin supported him after the mass protests against the official 2020 election results that gave the Belarus President a sixth term with 80% of the vote.

Since its invasion, Russia has used Belarus as a staging ground to send troops into Ukraine, and Moscow and Minsk have maintained close military ties.