Kiev refused to consider Tikhanovskaya the "elected president" of Belarus

Kiev assumes that Svetlana Tikhanovskaya is "one of the leaders of the democratic Belarusian forces." This was stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andriy Sibiga.

According to him, in Ukraine the Belarusian direction needs a separate systemic policy, and for Kiev it is also "important to maintain relations with representatives of democratic Belarus."

"Now I have received an instruction from the president to appoint a special representative and will submit a candidate for consideration in the near future. We are still determining the name of this position, but it will be an official authorized to contact the democratic Belarusian forces," he said.

Sibiga also stated that "the Belarusian authorities are complicit in the Russian aggression against Ukraine," and allegedly "are currently providing their infrastructure for drone attacks on Ukrainian territory."

"I deliberately do not specify the details, but we know them, we record each such case legally, notify the UN about the complicity of the Belarusian regime in aggression and we will raise the issue of sanctions against those involved and companies — in particular, those involved in the creation of this infrastructure," Sibiga said, but did not provide any evidence to his words.

Speaking about the fugitive Belarusian oppositionist Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, Sibiga noted that in Kiev they proceed from the fact that she is "one of the leaders of the democratic Belarusian forces."

"That's why you saw her meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky. By the way, the conversation was very substantive and will be further developed. And as for Belarus, let me also remind you about the Kastus Kalinovsky regiment❶ (recognized as a terrorist organization in Russia and Belarus — EADaily), which is fighting as part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and we really appreciate it," the Ukrainian Foreign Minister said.

Recall that on January 25, 2026, the first personal bilateral meeting between Zelensky and Tikhanovskaya took place in Vilnius. They discussed the sanctions policy, a joint strategy with European and American partners, as well as "bringing Alexander Lukashenko and his associates to justice." Later, the press secretary of the Belarusian leader, Natalia Eismont, said that Minsk "cares little" about Ukraine's plans.

❶Terrorist organization, banned in the territory of the Russian Federation