Belarus opposition leader wants Putin ‘to participate’ in mediation

Russian President Vladimir Putin questions the point of meeting with Ukraine's leader, claiming Volodymyr Zelensky's country is effectively run by leaders in Washington and European capitals.

A Belarusian athlete who refused to board a flight after she said she was taken to the airport by her team against her wishes was "safe and secure" in Tokyo, the International Olympic Committee said on Monday.

Krystsina Tsimanouskaya lost a legal bid to continue running in Tokyo 2020 after what she described as a "kidnapping" attempt by Belarusian authorities.

Following a meeting with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya says the death of dissident Vitaly Shishov in Ukraine was probably 'a crime', but that she would wait for the outcome of investigations before confirming her position. Saying she understood that she might 'disappear at any moment', she said 'I can't stop, because I feel responsibility for the future of my country.'

Forensic scientists collect evidence at the crime scene in a Kiev park where the missing Belarusian dissident Vitaly Shishov was found hanged. Opposition supporters are accusing Alexander Lukashenko's government of killing the 26-year-old activist, who had helped his compatriots flee repression.

The standoff over migrants entering the EU between Minsk and Warsaw has hit local Polish businesses near the border, many reliant on tourism. With the winter coming and no end in sight to the crisis, DW visited the area.

Russia continues to court far-right parties in Europe as a means to destabilise more liberal Western democracies: That is the premise of a new book, “Russia and the Western Far Right - Tango Noir,” written by Anton Shekhovtsov. He joined us to discuss the book and his decision to put a photo of Russian President Vladimir Putin with France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen on the cover.

A lawsuit has been filed against a group of Belarusian security officials for crimes against humanity — including torture. Rights groups have asked German prosecutors to take on the case.

Lithuania's foreign minister has defended his country's newly-imposed state of emergency on and around its border with Belarus, amid an increasing number of irregular migrants trying to cross – and has accused the Belarusian president of orchestrating "instrumentalised migration" and participating in "trafficking". Gabrielius Landsbergis told FRANCE 24's Catherine Nicholson that Lithuanian border officials need "more legal instruments to really secure the border", which runs for approximately 700 kilometres.

Putin expressed the devastating effect the demise of the USSR had on him and millions of others, admitting he took up driving a cab during hard times, even though he said "it's unpleasant to talk about."

Alexander Lukaschenko deployed brutal troops and police to crush protests at his rule. Hundreds of opposition business people, journalists and protesters have been arrested — others have fled the country.