Latest Alexander Lukashenko News

Belarusians join war seeking to free Ukraine and themselves
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — One is a restaurateur who fled Belarus when he learned he was about to be arrested for criticizing President Alexander Lukashenko. Another was given the choice of either denouncing fellow opposition activists or being jailed. And one is certain his brother was killed by the...
Belarus expands death penalty law, ups threat to opposition
LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — Belarus on Wednesday expanded the death penalty law to include “attempted terrorism,” in a move that could radically ramp up the government's pressure on the country's beleaguered opposition. Authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko signed a law...

Live updates | Russia-Ukraine War
LVIV, Ukraine — The western Ukrainian city of Lviv has been rocked by number of very loud explosions. An Associated Press team in the city witnessed the glare of bright explosions which lit up the night sky to the west of the city shortly after midnight local time. Witnesses...

AP-Week in Pictures-Global
April 30 - May 6, 2022 From Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko in an interview with The Associated Press at the Independence Palace in Minsk, Belarus, to Britain’s Emma Raducanu powerfully returning the ball against Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine during their match at the Mutua...
Woman forced to land in Belarus gets 6 years in prison
LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — A woman who ran a Belarusian opposition messaging app channel and was arrested along with her activist boyfriend when an airliner they were on was forced to land in Belarus was convicted Friday of charges that included inciting social hatred. Following her...

'Seemed like goodbye': Mariupol defenders make their stand
LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian fighters in the tunnels underneath Mariupol’s pulverized steel plant held out against Russian troops Thursday in an increasingly desperate and perhaps doomed effort to deny Moscow what would be its biggest success of the war yet: the complete capture of the...

The AP Interview: Belarus admits Russia's war 'drags on'
MINSK, Belarus (AP) — Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko defended Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in an interview Thursday with The Associated Press, but he said he didn’t expect the 10-week-old conflict to “drag on this way.” He also spoke out against ...

Stanislav Shushkevich, post-Soviet leader of Belarus, dies
LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — Stanislav Shushkevich, who steered Belarus to independence, served as its first leader and is reported to have taught Russian to John F. Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald in the 1960s, has died. He was 87. Shushkevich died early Wednesday, according to his...
Belarus journalist group wins UNESCO's press freedom award
LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — Belarus' top independent journalists' organization has been awarded a UNESCO press freedom award. The Belarusian Association of Journalists has been named as the laureate of the 2022 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize — a $25,000 award for...
Belarus launches new crackdown on activists, journalists
LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — The authorities in Belarus have conducted a new wave of searches and arrests of union activists and independent journalists, a leading human rights group said Wednesday. At least 16 people have been arrested in Minsk, Grodno, Borisov and other Belarusian...
