During a meeting with a top Russian militant, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko admitted to a decade-long cooperation with occupied Donetsk and his involvement in hosting abducted Ukrainian children. The United States condemned Belarusian state-owned TV channel for broadcasting a “repentance” video of U.S. citizen turned Belarusian political prisoner Yury Ziankovich. Far-right German politician Jörg Dornau was accused of using jailed Belarusian activists for cheap labor at his onion plantation in Belarus. The European Parliament adopted a new resolution on Belarusian political prisoners and urged Serbia not to extradite a Belarusian activist at the request of the Lukashenko regime. Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank agreed to sell its stake in its Belarusian subsidiary to UAE investors, marking a full exit from the Belarusian market. The International Chess Federation FIDE reaffirmed the ban on the participation of Russia and Belarus in its tournaments.
In a meeting with Russian proxy leader Denis Pushilin, Lukashenko admitted to cooperating with the proxy authorities in Ukraine‘s Russian-occupied Donetsk Oblast for over a decade. He also defended his decision to host children abducted by Russia from occupied Ukrainian territories, claiming it was for their “treatment and recreation.” However, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry condemned the meeting and Lukashenko’s “hypocritical rhetoric,” stating that Belarus’ policies are dictated by the Kremlin and do not align with international law or obligations. This was Pushilin’s third visit to Belarus, and following their previous meeting in 2023, Ukraine recalled its Ambassador for consultations.
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