Tsikhanouskaya: Ukraine Has Shattered the Myth of an 'All-Powerful' Russia

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said that Ukraine's fight against Russian aggression has shattered what she described as the myth of an "all-powerful" Russia in the eyes of the world, according to Ukraine's state news agency Ukrinform.

Tsikhanouskaya, who has led Belarus's exiled democratic opposition since disputed elections in 2020, has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine throughout Russia's full-scale invasion, framing the conflict as connected to the broader struggle against authoritarianism in the region, including in her native Belarus, whose government under President Alexander Lukashenko has closely aligned itself with Moscow.

Her comments reflect a narrative that has gained traction among Ukraine's supporters since the early stages of the war, when many international observers had initially expected a rapid Russian victory given the disparity in size and military resources between the two countries. Ukraine's sustained resistance, backed by Western military and financial assistance, has been cited by Kyiv's allies as evidence that Russia's military capabilities were overestimated prior to the invasion.

At the same time, the war has continued for more than four years with heavy casualties and significant territorial fighting still ongoing in parts of eastern and southern Ukraine, and independent assessments of the overall military balance vary depending on the source.

Tsikhanouskaya's remarks also carry a domestic Belarusian dimension, as she has argued that a weakened Russia could, in turn, create more space for democratic change in Belarus, where Lukashenko has ruled for more than three decades with substantial support from Moscow.

The Kremlin has not commented on Tsikhanouskaya's remarks, and Russian officials have consistently disputed characterizations that portray Moscow's military as having underperformed during the conflict.