Today, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and the Representative for Defense and National Security of the United Transitional Cabinet, Vadzim Kabanchuk, held a meeting in Warsaw with Belarusian volunteers and activists who have fought on Ukraine’s side.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya thanked the Belarusian volunteers for their courage and principled stance in the fight against Russian aggression:
“Belarusian volunteers have made a tremendous contribution to the fight against Russian aggression. Thanks to you, the world sees that Belarusians are not accomplices in this war but a nation fighting for the security of the entire region”.
Participants discussed strategic cooperation with Ukraine and Ms. Tsikhanouskaya’s upcoming visit to Ukraine, which is scheduled to take place in the coming months.
The parties addressed the legal stay and residency issues faced by Belarusian volunteers in Ukraine. They also discussed the overall situation of Belarusian veterans and ways to improve it, including by:
- revising regulations that effectively equate Belarusian volunteers with citizens of the aggressor state;
- ensuring compensation payments to the families of those killed;
- extending the period of legal stay after the completion of military contracts;
- simplifying legal stay in Ukraine;
- creating mechanisms for reintegration into civilian life after service.
