On the evening of January 25 in Vilnius, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, held a bilateral meeting with the Head of the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya, on behalf of Belarusians, expressed full support for the Ukrainian people in their fight for freedom, highlighted President Zelenskyy’s exceptional personal leadership, and thanked him for his powerful speech at the ceremony commemorating the 1863 January Uprising. She also expressed gratitude to President Zelenskyy for his support for a democratic Belarus and for the fact that Ukraine’s leadership clearly distinguishes between the Belarusian people and the regime.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya paid special tribute to Belarusian volunteer fighters, humanitarian workers, and partisans who have been persecuted in Belarus for their solidarity with and support for Ukraine, as well as to Belarusians living in Ukraine. She also emphasized the situation of captured Belarusian volunteer fighters. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya thanked President Zelenskyy and his team (in particular, the Head of the President’s Office, Kyrylo Budanov) for accepting the most recent group of released political prisoners. The sides discussed the releases, next steps, and Ukraine’s readiness to continue providing this type of support.
Mr. Zelenskyy and Ms. Tsikhanouskaya also discussed sanctions policy, a joint strategy with European and American partners, and efforts to hold Aliaksandr Lukashenka and his accomplices accountable, including for the forced displacement of Ukrainian children. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya proposed appointing a Special Envoy for Belarus, as many other democratic countries have done, as well as closer cooperation with the Mission of Democratic Belarus in Kyiv. The parties also discussed Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s visit to Ukraine: President Zelenskyy invited her to visit Kyiv.
Ms. Tsikhanouskaya emphasized that the fates of a free Belarus and Ukraine are closely intertwined, and that she, her team, and the United Transitional Cabinet would welcome even closer cooperation with Ukraine.
