On November 6, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya delivered a speech at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) – a leading think tank in the field of security and defense.
In her address, she noted that Belarus today is under Russia’s control, and the Lukashenka regime has become its proxy, directly participating in the aggression against Ukraine. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya emphasized that a sovereign and democratic Belarus could become a factor of stability and security in the region, calling on Australia to maintain a firm stance toward the regimes of Lukashenka and Putin, and to support the democratic forces and human rights initiatives.
She also stressed that Belarus and Ukraine are fighting for the same values that Australia defends on the international stage – peace, human rights, and democracy:
“In 2022, Lukashenka allowed Russia to attack Ukraine from Belarusian territory. Russian missiles were launched from Belarus to kill Ukrainians. All this happened against Belarusians’ will. When the war began, they protested against it. Belarusian railway partisans sabotaged Russian military trains dozens of times. Hundreds of volunteers went to Ukraine to defend its independence. Eighty of them have already given their lives in this fight. Of course, we all want peace. That’s what we are fighting for – and that’s what Ukraine is so bravely fighting for”.
