Ukraine war: Exiled Belarus opposition leaderspeaks out against Russia's threat | BBC News

In August 2020, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya was elected president of Belarus.Tsikhanouskaya then fled to Lithuania in 2020 afterPresident Alexander Lukashenko deployed a severe crackdown on protests against his disputed election win.

Siarhei Tsikhanouski is among several prominentimprisoned opposition figures whom relatives sayhave not been heard from in over a year.

"Russia wants to subjugate Belarus and Ukraine,"Tsikhanouskaya told BBC News.

Lukashenko has ruled Belarus since 1994.

Opposition figures are subjected to harsh penalties fororganising protests.