Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya urges the EU to take up the stick. "Lukashenko is very afraid of sanctions"

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the Belarusian opposition leader, spoke at the Freedom Games in Łódź, emphasizing the need for a free Belarus for regional security. She criticized Alexander Lukashenko's regime for serving Russian interests and highlighted the plight of over 950 political prisoners in Belarus. Tsikhanouskaya expressed gratitude towards Poland for sheltering Belarusian refugees but pointed out challenges they face, including bureaucratic obstacles. She called for the preservation of Belarusian culture and language among the diaspora and expressed hope for a democratic Belarus aligned with European values. Tsikhanouskaya warned that ignoring Belarus in European security architecture could lead to future threats from Russia.