As Russia masses an estimated 100,000 troops along Ukraine’s borders, it has also begun moving forces and equipment into neighboring Belarus for what Moscow said will be military exercises. One observer describes the move as a show of force by Russia, and of allegiance by Belarus.
Dramatic video released by the Belarusian authorities appears to show a gunfight during a KGB raid in which two people were reportedly killed. Opposition figures condemned the use of violence by the KGB and raised doubts about the authenticity of the video.
Mikita Litvinenka is one of thousands of Belarusians who have been imprisoned for taking part in protests over the August 9, 2020, election, widely seen in the country -- and in the West -- as rigged. In July, he was sentenced to four years in prison.
The man who found the body of Belarusian activist Vital Shyshou in a park near his home in Kyiv says that he was briefed by Ukrainian intelligence officials that hit squads had been sent to Ukraine to "liquidate" activists in exile.
Two correspondents of RFE/RL's Belarus Service have been released from jail, 10 days after their arrests as part of authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka's clampdown on the country's independent media and civil society.
Security forces have raided the offices and homes of several independent journalists across Belarus, including the premises of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Minsk.
A father and son are holed up in the Swedish Embassy in Minsk, where they took refuge in September 2020 from Belarusian security forces after joining pro-democracy protests. The Swedish authorities say the two men cannot claim political asylum at the embassy.
A former senior Belarusian Interior Ministry official has vouched that a 2012 audio recording that allegedly spells out plans to kill several opponents of leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka in Germany is authentic.
More than 1,000 anti-government demonstrators were detained across Belarus on the 13th consecutive Sunday of protests calling for the resignation of Alyaksandr Lukashenka and a new presidential election following a disputed vote three months ago.
Marches by senior citizens have become a regular feature on the streets of Minsk. They are boosting anti-government protests that have occurred daily since the August 9 Belarusian presidential election, which was widely seen as rigged. As one participant put it: "If they arrest me, I'll be proud."
In Belarus, buying a bottle of mineral water is now political. A new app allows Belarusians to boycott companies linked to Alyaksandr Lukashenka by scanning bar codes on everyday products.
Belarusians interviewed in Minsk by RFE/RL's Belarusian Service after Alyaksandr Lukashenka's surprise September 23 presidential inauguration largely scoffed at the unannounced, closed-door ceremony. The event suggests that Lukashenka, in power since 1994, is afraid of his own people, most said.
A man has given Current Time a harrowing account of being raped by police in Belarus after being detained in August. He has provided a medical report backing up his story. We have disguised his voice to protect his identity.
The western city of Hrodna has been a microcosm of the political crisis that has engulfed Belarus after protests erupted over a presidential election widely seen as rigged.
As his security forces have beaten protesters and detained thousands, authoritarian Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has repeatedly appeared on TV hurling insults at those who brave brutal repression to call for him to go.
People marched through the center of the Belarusian capital, Minsk, on August 23, two weeks after the country's disputed presidential election. An estimated 100,000 joined the protest against result of the vote, in which the incumbent Alyaksandr Lukashenka claimed victory despite irregularities.
Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya has left her country, apparently under duress, amid a wave of protests against the alleged falsification of the country's recent presidential election. Western governments have criticized both the election and a crackdown by security forces.
