VILNIUS – Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has informed Lithuanian lawmakers of her decision to relocate to Poland, sources told BNS on Saturday.
Tsikhanouskaya conveyed the decision during a meeting last week with the parliament's provisional parliamentary group supporting democratic forces in Belarus, according to two Lithuanian lawmakers from different political groups who attended the gathering and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The AFP news agency also reported the decision on Saturday, citing four members of Tsikhanouskaya's team and a source in Poland's Foreign Ministry, all speaking anonymously.
One of the Lithuanian lawmakers told BNS that several members of the opposition leader's team were likely to continue working in Vilnius.
As reported by BNS, Lithuania reduced Tsikhanouskaya's security protection at the end of 2025, transferring responsibility from the Dignitary Protection Service to the police.
Authorities said the move reflected a reduced threat level, but critics said it downgraded her status.
Tsikhanouskaya ran against President Alexander Lukashenko in Belarus' disputed 2020 presidential election, with the opposition saying the vote was rigged and that she was the real winner.
Belarus, ruled by Lukashenko since 1994, suppressed the mass protests that followed the vote, arresting thousands and forcing tens of thousands into exile.
Tsikhanouskaya's aide Denis Kuchinsky told journalists that her husband, Siarhei Tsikhanouski, released from prison last year, was currently in the United States for security reasons.
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