Belarus opposition leader visits Ukraine as Kyiv warns of escalation

Source: Reuters

Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya visited Kyiv on Monday ‌following weeks of mounting warnings from Ukrainian officials about Russian plans to draw Minsk more deeply into the war against Ukraine.

Tsikhanouskaya arrived a day after one of the war's biggest strikes on the Ukrainian capital killed four people and damaged historical sites, ​and amid Russian threats to launch further heavy attacks on Kyiv.

Tsikhanouskaya, an opponent of Belarus' President Alexander ​Lukashenko, a close ally of Moscow, said only a democratic Belarus could become a ⁠source of stability and security in the region.

"Lukashenko's rhetoric is shifting: we are preparing for war, of ​course, we want peace, but we are gearing up for war. And that, of course, is very alarming ​for people," she told reporters after meeting with Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, on what she said was her first "working visit" to Kyiv.


Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/belarus-opposition-leader-visits-ukraine-kyiv-warns-escalation-2026-05-25/