Commentary from Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya - ABC News (Australia)

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Exiled Belarusian opposition leader warns against Russia

For nearly 30 years, Belarus has lived under the iron rule of dictator Alexander Lukashenko.

More than a thousand journalists and activists have been jailed, and the opposition leader has been convicted of treason in Absentia. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is currently in exile in Lithuania, trying to topple the regime.


How would democracy in Belarus impact Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine?

This week Russia reached an agreement with Ukraine's northern neighbour Belarus to station strategic nuclear weapons on its soil. After Moscow intervened in Belarus to help crush pro-democracy protests in 2020, its regime has been increasingly willing to bend to the will of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Opposition politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya claims she won Belarus’ last election before being forced into exile. She tells the ABC’s Steve Cannane that until democracy comes to her country, Ukraine will be under constant threat from Russia.