Belarusians say victory depends on Ukraine six years after protests

Belarusians living in Lithuania marked the sixth anniversary of protests against Aliaksandr Lukashenko’s regime, saying their country could eventually become a democracy but that change may take years, LRT reported.

Belarusians who gathered in Vilnius said they believed their victory would also depend on Ukraine. Dzianis Kuchynski, head of opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s office in Vilnius, said they would be able to declare victory when Ukraine wins its war against Russia.

Anatol, a Belarusian who has lived in Lithuania for three years, spent two and a half years in a Belarusian prison after being arrested during the 2020 protests.

“The official version was that I kicked three OMON officers, although in reality they kicked me,” he said. Anatol said he had to leave Belarus after his release because he continued to be persecuted.

Those who fled Belarus also stressed that not all political prisoners had been released.

“We can call this a kind of celebration of Belarusian courage, but we need to understand that many people are in Belarusian prisons,” said Katia, a Belarusian. “We are here to remember and remind everyone, Lithuanians and Poles, that Belarusians are continuing the fight against the Lukashenko regime and Putin’s regime.”

Presidential elections were held in Belarus on August 9, 2020, six years ago. Lukashenko ran against opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. Although official results said Lukashenko had won by a large margin, the results are considered falsified. Mass protests were suppressed by force, prompting thousands of people to leave the country.

“The will was expressed to be with Europe, to live in a democratic country and to oppose dictatorship,” said another Belarusian named Sviatlana.

“Belarusians have not started loving Lukashenko today, nor have they changed their position. We remain pro-European and pro-Ukrainian,” Kuchynski said. “Our work here is not finished, and no struggle can be won alone.”

Kuchynski said change in Belarus was only a matter of time. “A great deal depends on Ukraine. This is a major change in our cooperation with Ukraine, and Volodymyr Zelensky, who is now working with Tsikhanouskaya, is putting pressure on Lukashenko,” he said. “Our future depends on Ukraine’s future, and I will say not if, but when Ukraine wins, Belarus will win too.”

Belarusians said they believed their homeland could become a democratic state but could not predict when that would happen.

“Unfortunately, it will take several years, perhaps even several decades, for that to happen, because the situation in Belarus is sad now,” Sviatlana said.

She said she did not plan to return for now, explaining that she was building her life in Lithuania, where she had a job she valued, friends and opportunities to travel. Aleksas, who is of Lithuanian descent, said he wanted to remain in Lithuania permanently.

In 2025, Belarus held another presidential election in which Lukashenko claimed to have won nearly 90 percent of the vote and secured a seventh consecutive term.