Latest Belarus News
Belarus claims it prevented drone attacks from Lithuania. Vilnius rejects the allegations
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A top security official in Belarus claimed Thursday that the country has prevented attempted drone strikes from Lithuania targeting the Belarusian capital and surrounding areas. Lithuania denied the claim. Ivan Tertel, head of the Belarusian Committee for...
The family of imprisoned Belarusian opposition figure hasn't heard from her for over 400 days
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — It's been 434 days since the family of imprisoned Belarusian opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova heard from her, her relatives said Wednesday, on the activist's 42nd birthday. Kolesnikova, who is serving 11 years in prison for helping organize...
Nearly 100 Belarus political prisoners have severe medical problems, rights group says
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Nearly 100 political prisoners in Belarus, incarcerated in a severe crackdown on dissent, have severe medical problems and could be close to death, the country's respected human rights group Viasna said Monday. Viasna, whose Nobel Peace Prize-winning founder...
Poland's leader says his country is ready to host NATO members' nuclear weapons to counter Russia
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s president says the NATO member would be ready to host the nuclear weapons of the military alliances's other members in response to Russia’s moving its nuclear weapons to neighboring Belarus. President Andrzej Duda made the comments in an interview...
Hackers claim Belarus fertilizer plant infiltrated to demand political prisoner release
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A Belarusian hacker activist group claims to have infiltrated computers at the country's largest fertilizer plant to pressure the government to release political prisoners. The state-run Grodno Azot plant has made no comment on the claim by the Belarusian...
Belarus' parliament votes to leave Europe's conventional forces treaty already abandoned by Russia
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — The Belarusian parliament on Wednesday voted to suspend the country's participation in the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty that once was a key security doctrine for the continent, a 1990 agreement that was abandoned last year by Russia. The bill,...
Russian missiles slam into a Ukraine city and kill 17 people as the war approaches a critical stage
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Three Russian missiles slammed into a downtown area of the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv on Wednesday, hitting an eight-floor apartment building and killing at least 17 people, authorities said. At least 61 people, including three children, were wounded...
A political prisoner in Belarus smuggles out account of beatings after writing on toilet paper
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A political prisoner in Belarus has shed light on the country's brutal prison system by smuggling out her story written on pieces of toilet paper. Katsiaryna Novikava, 38, described being repeatedly beaten by security forces after she was detained in June...
Belarus convicts a famous dissident rock band and sentences its members to correctional labor
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarusian authorities on Friday convicted a famous dissident rock band, designating the band and its three members as extremist and sentencing them to two years of correctional labor. It was the latest in a yearslong crackdown on dissent that has engulfed this country of...
Man awaiting trial for insulting Belarusian president dies in jail
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A Belarusian man who was in jail awaiting trial on charges of insulting the authoritarian president has died in custody, the country's leading human rights group said Thursday. Aliaksandr Kulinich, 51, died Tuesday in a detention center in the western city...
