Strasbourg – Her gaze remains steady, betraying no emotion after years spent fighting for Belarus’ cause from afar – coordinating democratic forces from exile. This distance allows her to maintain contact with European allies, yet keeps her separated from her own people.
But a hint of frustration creeps into Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya‘s voice as she reflects on a harsh reality: “Being in the EU is a privilege – you don’t understand what slavery is.” Speaking to The New Union Post on the sidelines of her intervention at the European Parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg, the leader of the Belarusian democratic forces urges Europeans to be “more responsible in understanding what it means to fight for democracy, because you can easily lose it.”
For Tsikhanouskaya, the war in Ukraine and the regime of terror in Belarus are inextricably linked, with a single architect behind them both: “I really don’t wish for the people of the free world to experience being slaves to Putin and Russia.” The political activist is deeply concerned about the direction of potential peace negotiations in Ukraine. If mishandled, she warns, Belarus could face an even graver fate – becoming the “consolation prize for Putin.”
Is peace in Ukraine possible?
“I believe both Putin and Lukashenko have been waiting for this US administration to take office,” Tsikhanouskaya says when asked about Trump’s stance on peace negotiations in Ukraine. While acknowledging that the US president is “transactional and pragmatic” on ending the war, she warns that “there is a difference between closing the issue and solving the problem.”
For Belarusians, Ukrainians, and Europeans alike, a lasting peace is “essential” – not only to end the war but to prevent Putin from using a ceasefire to regroup: “His target is not just Ukraine. He will push further, towards Western countries.” The political activist stresses that “we want peace, but Putin and Lukashenko do not,” because “war fuels their regimes and justifies their terror.”
She warns that the Kremlin’s ambitions aim to reassert control over countries like Belarus, Georgia, and Moldova, “restoring the ‘Soviet Union family'” and disregarding people’s “desire” to live in a democratic world. Europe and the US should recognise the gravity of the threat, as Putin and his puppet Lukashenko “will not stop until they are completely stopped,” Tsikhanouskaya continues.
Her message to Trump’s administration is clear: “Do not strike deals with Russia that sideline the interests of Ukrainians and Belarusians.” She also insists that, in discussions on a possible peace in the region, her country “must not be overlooked or treated as a separate case.” To prevent this, Belarusian democratic forces “must have a seat” at the negotiating table, and “Europe must be our voice.” The political activists makes it clear that “a free and democratic Belarus is a crucial piece in the European security puzzle.”
Belarus’ future in the EU
The reality in Minsk today is starkly different. “Being in Russia’s sphere of influence is what Lukashenko wants,” Tsikhanouskaya asserts. More than 1,200 political prisoners languish in jail, but the true number is likely “much higher.” Many of those detained on politically motivated charges refuse to be recognised as political prisoners, fearing even harsher repercussions. “Their relatives are targeted by the KGB, and their properties are confiscated,” she explains.
Among these political prisoners, at least eight have been forcibly disappeared, including Tsikhanouskaya’s husband, Sergei Tikhanovsky, who was arrested after declaring his candidacy for the 2020 presidential election. On 9 March, it was exactly two years since she last heard from him – “no communication, no letters, no phone calls, absolutely nothing. I don’t know if he is alive.” Human rights organisations widely regard this as a form of torture, yet, as she warns, “as long as the regime acts with impunity, they will continue these crimes without consequence.”
According to the political activist in exile, “this is an example of what can happen when people fail to cherish what they have” – a pointed reference to EU Member States where pro-Russian forces are growing stronger, fuelled by “false narratives” against the European Union. “It is truly disheartening how easily people can be poisoned by such propaganda.”
In democracies, citizens often “take for granted the luxury they enjoy” – the certainty that they will not be arbitrarily detained or tortured for opposing the government. And while fighting for democracy “may sound noble,” for those just beyond the EU’s borders “in reality, it is about suffering, tears, pain, taking your child and fleeing your country, losing everything.”
Despite the grim reality, “I am absolutely sure that Belarus will, sooner or later, become part of the European Union,” she asserts. However, the immediate challenge is to be “recognised as part of Europe in people’s minds” after being “overshadowed by Russia for too long.” Although her country has been under Moscow’s influence “for only the last 200 years,” she acknowledges that “almost no one perceives us as a European nation.”
With the ambition of “returning to our European roots,” democratic forces inside and outside the country are already “drafting new laws and reforms,” laying the groundwork for a transition. “But without allies, we will not be able to dismantle Lukashenko’s regime,” Tsikhanouskaya concludes, her determination unshaken despite five years of relentless repression.
