Dmitry Bolkunets (ツ)

Political & economic analyst, researcher, traveller. Covering Belarus,
& global affairs. VeloLiberty — 10,000 km solo bike journey across 16 countries.

[Meduza in English @meduza_en]

Anatol Kotau resigned from Lukashenko’s administration after the 2020 protests and went on to work with opposition groups in exile. In August 2025, he disappeared during a yacht trip in the Black Sea. A new investigation says Russia’s FSB was behind it.
https://t.co/385UWWzk0b

[Dmitry Bolkunets (ツ) @Balkunets]

@AndrzejHalicki @poczobut Panie Pośle,

Dlaczego nie poparł Pan poprawki dotyczącej opracowania mechanizmu rekompensat za konfiskatę mienia z powodów politycznych, dokonywaną przez reżim Łukaszenki? Zapis ten został usunięty z końcowej deklaracji.

[DW Español @dw_espanol]

Viaje sin regreso: cómo desapareció un exiliado bielorruso

El exdirigente deportivo bielorruso Anatol Kotau fue visto por última vez al abordar un yate privado en Turquía en 2025. DW y sus socios investigaron su viaje y desaparición en aguas del mar Negro bajo control ruso. (md)

https://t.co/phtlEWKt6h

[Jonathan Crane @jonathancrane5]

🔎 REVEALED: How Russian security services took a dissident Belarusian sports official at sea.

For months, DW and its partners have been investigating the disappearance of Anatol Kotau.

We found that he may have been lured to his fate by people he knew.

https://t.co/JNgXcPy2S9

[Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project @OCCRP]

Belarusian dissident Anatol Kotau went on a trip to Turkey in August 2025 and never returned. Now, reporters reveal new details about the final hours he spent on board a pleasure yacht in the Black Sea before disappearing.

https://t.co/uoBUxZFf2p

[Israel Foreign Ministry @IsraelMFA]

The remarks made by the President of Belarus - a country that knows all too well the horrors of the Holocaust committed on its own soil - in his interview with Al Arabiya are unacceptable and deeply disturbing.

Any comparison between the Holocaust of the Jewish people and Israel’s just war against terrorism must be unequivocally rejected.

Equally appalling is the revival of vile, outdated antisemitic conspiracies that should have long been consigned to history.

[The Jerusalem Post @Jerusalem_Post]

Israel condemns Lukashenko over “Gaza is a holocaust” remarks and claims about a “Jewish lobby,” saying his comments are unacceptable and distort the Holocaust.
✍️ @MathildaHeller
https://t.co/DUyrh9hMv6

[Лёша гундит @rembish]

Yesterday I've started https://t.co/ETteSgbvk9. And it became quite viral in European region. Maybe it would be great to expose it world wide. It is a directory of visa/entry conditions for certain passport holders. A matrix contains almost 52k cells confirmed by official sources

[Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt @ChiefRabbiPG]

Lukashenko just dropped the hottest geopolitical take of 2026: Putin got catfished into war… by the Vatican and the Jewish lobby working together.
Next he’ll tell us the Easter Bunny and Mossad were splitting the peace treaty on a yacht. Belarus diplomacy, everyone. Peak comedy gold. 😂

[Dmitry Bolkunets (ツ) @Balkunets]

@rembish Круто! Не хватает информации для паспорта беженца.

[Dmitry Bolkunets (ツ) @Balkunets]

@RihardsKols Kāpēc Latvija baidās pieņemt rezolūciju, kas atzītu Krievijas FSB un Baltkrievijas KGB par padomju NKVD mantiniecēm un teroristiskām organizācijām?

Mēs esam iesnieguši šo aicinājumu Saeimai.

Vai nav pienācis laiks nosaukt lietas īstajos vārdos?

[Dmitry Bolkunets (ツ) @Balkunets]

President Trump is the only President who responded to the appeals of Nobel Prize laureates and helped free over 500 political prisoners.
We wish @realDonaldTrump strength, health and many more years serving peace.
Happy Birthday, President Trump!
@johnpcoale

[Dmitry Bolkunets (ツ) @Balkunets]

@ValeryTsepkalo @johnpcoale A portion of the U.S. grant funding allocated to Belarus was allegedly misappropriated through shell companies, with most of the operations being conducted in Lithuania.

[Valery Tsepkalo @ValeryTsepkalo]

We sincerely hope that the absence of your meeting with Lukashenko had no connection to the potash negotiations or to your public attribution to Tsikhanouskaya.

Structures associated with her Office received approximately $180 million in U.S. assistance under the previous administration. It is no surprise she endorsed @JoeBiden, whom she met, and later joined @SpeakerPelosi as she was attacking @realDonaldTrump during the presidential campaign.

During that period, projects such as Black Book of Belarus and Hajun, closely associated with her employee @franakviacorka, became linked to hundreds of arrests and imprisonments inside Belarus.

We genuinely appreciate your efforts to secure the release of these and hundreds of other political hostages. Our Nobel Laureate network likewise appreciates the work you have done, even though its contribution has never been publicly acknowledged.

At present, you remain the only active humanitarian channel unless and until Europe steps in. We believe your involvement may soon be needed again, as around 300 students of the Lithuania-based European Humanities University (EHU), recently designated an extremist organization by the Belarusian regime, have reportedly been detained or interrogated after returning home for the holidays.

We wish you every success in your continued humanitarian efforts and sincerely hope that Belarus will not spend another 35 years trading political prisoners for political and economic concessions.

[Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський @ZelenskyyUa]

Open Letter to the President of the Russian Federation: https://t.co/mEvYqYiqus

[Dmitry Bolkunets (ツ) @Balkunets]

@johnpcoale Was this linked to discussions about lifting sanctions on potash transit, or did Lukashenko react to your public expression of gratitude towards Ms Tsikhanouskaya, with whom you had previously consistently denied having any contacts?

[Dmitry Bolkunets (ツ) @Balkunets]

@johnpcoale What was the reason for the announced meeting with Lukashenko not taking place and for the previously announced plans to release prisoners in May not being implemented?

[Dmitry Bolkunets (ツ) @Balkunets]

On August 21, 2025, Belarusian dissident Anatol Kotau disappeared without a trace in Turkey.
To this day, nothing is known about his fate. His family, friends are still waiting for answers.
Perhaps @JohnPCoale has been able to learn something about what happened to Anatol Kotau

[Valery Tsepkalo @ValeryTsepkalo]

We thank President @GitanasNauseda for responding to our previous appeal regarding questions surrounding the use of funds by @DZalimas40196 allocated for Belarusian democratic movement.

Today, we publish our second appeal, calling for full transparency, independent international oversight, and public accountability regarding the distribution of Belarus-related funding in Lithuania.

Belarusians who sacrificed their freedom and future deserve openness.

Appeal is here - https://t.co/4W0TEPR0ds

@EU_Commission @Europarl_EN @EP_Petitions @OCCRP @anticorruption @GLandsbergis @LRTenglish

#Belarus #Lithuania #Transparency #Accountability #EU

[Belarus Women’s Foundation @belarus_women]

17 women political prisoners of retirement age in Belarus

Sentences up to 21.5 yrs in prison -
for some, this may mean dying behind bars.

📣 Women of retirement age imprisoned on politically motivated charges must be released immediately as a priority humanitarian group.