“Six years ago, on Aug. 9, Belarusians clearly demonstrated their will for democratic change and their right to determine the future of their own country,” Sybiha wrote.
He recalled that Alexander Lukashenko’s authoritarian regime responded to the protests with brutal repression.
Sybiha said, however, that “years of pressure, imprisonment and forced exile have not destroyed Belarusians’ desire for freedom, democracy and sovereignty.”
“Ukraine clearly distinguishes between the Belarusian people and the Lukashenko regime, which bears responsibility for enabling Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” Sybiha said.
“We hope that one day Belarus will become a free, independent, democratic and European country, where its future is determined by its people, not Moscow,” he added. “Such a Belarus would strengthen the security of our entire region.”
Belarus held a presidential election on Aug. 9, 2020.
The country’s Central Election Commission claimed that Lukashenko won more than 80% of the vote, while opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya received about 7%.
The opposition rejected the results, citing widespread electoral fraud.
Mass protests continued for several months before being violently suppressed by the Lukashenko regime. Thousands of people were imprisoned, while Tsikhanouskaya was forced to leave the country.
Tsikhanouskaya made her first visit to Kyiv in May 2026 and met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.