Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya began her first Kyiv visit

On May 25, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya began an official visit to Kyiv. She was welcomed at the train station by Yaroslav Chornohor, Ambassador-at-Large of Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry.

Tsikhanouskaya was accompanied by members of her team — Dzianis Kuchynski, Franak Viacorka, and Valery Matskevich — as well as Pavel Latushka, her deputy in the United Transitional Cabinet.

This is Tsikhanouskaya’s first visit to Kyiv since becoming the leader of the Belarusian democratic movement.

In Kyiv, she is expected to speak at the International Summit of Cities and Regions, which will be attended by Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ruslan Stefanchuk.

She also plans to meet with Belarusians living in Ukraine.

The first place Tsikhanouskaya visited in Kyiv was Lukyanivske Cemetery, where she paid tribute at the grave of Belarusian fighter Maria Zaitsava, a participant in the 2020 protests who was killed in the war.

“She is, for me, a symbol not only of the struggle against dictatorship in Belarus, but also of Ukrainian-Belarusian solidarity. She died a hero and was a very strong, bright, principled person,” Tsikhanouskaya said.