Belarusian democratic leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, widely regarded by many Western governments as the real winner of Belarus’s disputed 2020 presidential election, met President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv during her first working visit to Ukraine. The meeting focused on Belarus-Ukraine cooperation, regional security and countering threats from Russia and Alexander Lukashenko’s regime.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. The talks took place on the sidelines of the IV International Summit of Cities and Regions, where Zelensky jokingly referred to Lukashenko’s recent statement that he was ready to meet the Ukrainian president. “It turned out quite interesting: Lukashenko said it, but Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya came instead,” Zelensky told attendees. “Glad to see you, Sviatlana.” In a post on X following the meeting, Tsikhanouskaya thanked Zelensky for maintaining dialogue with Belarusian society and democratic forces, as well as for Ukraine’s support for Belarusians living in Ukraine, including refugees and volunteers fighting alongside Ukrainian forces. Alexander Lukashenko, often described as “Europe’s last dictator,” has ruled Belarus since July 1994, making him the longest-tenured ruler in the post-Soviet space. During his three decades in power, he has dismantled democratic checks and balances, removed presidential term limits, crushed independent media, and preserved the Soviet-era KGB as a tool of political control. After the disputed 2020 election, his regime violently suppressed mass pro-democracy protests, jailed thousands of Belarusians, and forced opposition figures, including Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, into exile.