On May 22, 2026, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha stated that Kyiv expects a visit from Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the leader of the Belarusian democratic forces, in the near future. This came immediately after Alexander Lukashenko’s words about his alleged readiness to meet with Volodymyr Zelensky and discuss ‘Belarusian-Ukrainian relations.’
For Ukraine, this is not just a diplomatic detail. Kyiv is effectively showing that there is someone to talk to about the future of Belarus, but it does not necessarily have to be the person who allowed Russia to use Belarusian territory against Ukraine.
What Lukashenko said and why Kyiv responded through Tsikhanouskaya
On May 21, 2026, Lukashenko stated that Belarus ‘does not intend to get involved’ in the war against Ukraine unless aggression is committed against its territory. In the same vein, he said he was ready to meet with Zelensky ‘at any point’ — in Ukraine or Belarus — if the Ukrainian president wants to ‘talk’ or ‘consult.’ This was reported by Reuters and Ukrainian media, citing Lukashenko’s statement.
In Kyiv, this initiative was met with coolness. Sybiha called Lukashenko’s proposal ‘very strange’ and immediately shifted the conversation to another plane: Ukraine is waiting for Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, which means Kyiv has a political interlocutor on the Belarusian front. According to ‘European Truth,’ Tsikhanouskaya’s visit may take place as early as the week following Sybiha’s statement, that is, at the end of May 2026.
This is an important signal not only to Minsk but also to Moscow. Ukraine is not closing the Belarusian topic, but it separates Belarus as a country and the Belarusian society from the Lukashenko regime, which after 2022 has finally found itself in Russia’s military-political orbit.
What preceded this
Against the backdrop of Lukashenko’s statement, joint Russian-Belarusian exercises related to practicing the use of nuclear weapons were taking place. Associated Press wrote that Belarus and Russia began such maneuvers a few days before the new diplomatic skirmish, and the Belarusian opposition led by Tsikhanouskaya warned: the deployment of Russian nuclear capabilities turns Belarus into a potential military target.
For Ukraine, this is especially sensitive. In February 2022, Belarus became one of the springboards for the Russian invasion. It was from the Belarusian direction that the threat to Kyiv came in the first weeks of the great war.
Therefore, Lukashenko’s words about ‘peace’ and ‘readiness for dialogue’ are read in Kyiv not as neutral diplomacy, but as an attempt to seize political initiative. Sybiha responded differently: Ukraine will talk about Belarus with those who represent a democratic alternative to the regime.
Who is Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya was born on September 11, 1982. Before big politics, she was not a professional party leader: her political role changed dramatically in 2020 after the arrest of her husband, Siarhei Tsikhanouski, who was planning to participate in the presidential campaign against Lukashenko.
The presidential elections in Belarus were held on August 9, 2020. The official CEC of Belarus declared Lukashenko the winner, but the results sparked mass protests and were widely contested by the Belarusian opposition, Western countries, and human rights organizations. The European Parliament in its materials directly described those elections as rigged, indicating that independent exit polls showed Tsikhanouskaya’s victory.
After the elections, Tsikhanouskaya was forced to leave Belarus and continued her work from abroad, primarily from Lithuania. Her office describes its mission as representing the interests of Belarusians and democratic Belarus on the international stage, supporting political prisoners, and moving towards new free elections.
In June 2025, her husband Siarhei Tsikhanouski was released after almost five years of imprisonment. The Guardian reported that his arrest in 2020 became one of the key moments after which Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya effectively took on the role of leader of the opposition movement.
Why she is important for Ukraine
For Kyiv, Tsikhanouskaya is not just an opposition politician in exile. She symbolizes another Belarus: not a military appendage of Russia, not a territory for missile threats to Ukraine, but a European society that was suppressed by force after 2020.
Sybiha directly said that Ukraine and democratic Belarus have related historical goals. His formula — ‘Belarus is also Europe’ — shows that Kyiv wants to build a long line of relations not only with the current government in Minsk but also with the future Belarusian political reality.
For the Israeli audience, there is a separate angle here. Israel understands well that the security of the country depends not only on borders but also on who controls neighboring territories, what alliances are built there, and who gains access to military infrastructure. In the Ukrainian-Belarusian case, the question is the same: if Belarus remains under the control of a regime linked to Russia, it is a threat to Ukraine and an additional factor of instability in Europe.
Why this is important now
Sybiha’s statement did not sound in a vacuum. It coincided with a new discussion about Belarus’s role in the war, with Russian-Belarusian military signals, and with Lukashenko’s attempts to present himself not only as an ally of Moscow but also as a potential negotiator.
However, Ukraine responds to this politically harshly: Kyiv is in no hurry to meet with Lukashenko for a pretty picture. Instead, it strengthens contact with Tsikhanouskaya and the democratic forces of Belarus.
NANews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency views this episode as part of a broader struggle over who will speak on behalf of Belarus in European politics: the regime that helped Russia in the war, or the democratic movement that emerged after the 2020 protests.
What might happen next
If Tsikhanouskaya’s visit to Ukraine does indeed take place at the end of May 2026, it will be a notable diplomatic step. Kyiv will be able to show that the Belarusian direction for it is not limited to threats from the north and Lukashenko’s statements.
For Minsk, this will be an irritating signal. For Moscow, a reminder that Ukraine is trying to work not only with the front but also with the political future of neighboring countries.
For Israel and the Jewish audience in Israel, this story is also important because it shows the resilience of the Ukraine-Europe-security link. When Belarus is drawn into the Russian military system, it affects not only Kyiv. It changes the balance of threats across the entire European space, where large Jewish communities live, including those from Ukraine and Belarus.