Ilya Phoenix

Chaplain for EMS, Police, Fire in Southeast Missouri

[Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya @Tsihanouskaya]

The greatest threat to democracy is believing it will defend itself.

It won’t.

In 2020, Belarusians stood up for our votes. We did not change the government, but we changed our society. We discovered the strength of our solidarity and our responsibility for one another.

Democracy needs that responsibility every day. Active citizens who speak up. Journalists who uncover the truth. Courts that uphold the law. Leaders with the courage to defend it.

If you have these freedoms, use them. Defend them.

[Ed Boon @noobde]

This is a rough one. What a loss....

[Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya @Tsihanouskaya]

This was Minsk six years ago today. Hundreds of thousands of Belarusians took to the streets for freedom on October 25, 2020.

I know how hard these years have been. But we have not given up on our country. I will keep working for the day we can all live there without fear.

[Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya @Tsihanouskaya]

Six years ago, on October 18, tens of thousands protested peacefully in the March of Partisans. Hundreds were detained, but the courage of that day could not be arrested.

It lives in every Belarusian who refuses to accept dictatorship. We will continue until Belarus is free.

[Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya @Tsihanouskaya]

In Ukraine, tens of millions of Europeans live under daily Russian terror.

In Belarus, 9 million Europeans are held hostage by a dictator.

We are not Europe’s neighbours. We are Europe.

Stand with us. No dictator gets to decide where freedom ends.

[Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya @Tsihanouskaya]

Leaving Belarus does not mean escaping the regime’s persecution. It can still threaten your parents, confiscate your home, cancel your passport and sentence you to years in prison in absentia.

Today I spoke at the event "Transnational Repression in the OSCE Region, held as part of the Warsaw Human Dimension Conference of the OSCE. In my keynote, I called for stronger protection for Belarusians, both at home and in exile.

Governments must provide secure legal status and travel documents for those who cannot safely return. No journalist, activist or former political prisoner should be left without papers because Lukashenka refuses to renew a passport.

People expelled from Belarus after their release must have their rights restored and be free to decide where to live.

Extradition requests from the regime need close scrutiny. International police cooperation must never become a tool for sending people back to persecution.

This year, teams from our democratic forces and partners have helped prevent the extradition or forced return to Belarus of at least 15 people.

We also need to protect journalists in exile from hacking, threats and intimidation. Their safety matters to everyone inside Belarus who depends on independent information.

I want to thank 🇪🇪 Ambassador @silverkungas1 and all the Nordic and Baltic countries and @osce_odihr for bringing us together, and Poland and Lithuania for helping Belarusians find safety.

I am grateful to the countries supporting the International Humanitarian Fund, which has raised over €3.3 million to help people recover from repression and rebuild their lives.

The regime must stop new political arrests and the persecution of families. Those responsible for repression across borders must be held accountable.

Protecting Belarusians and our independent civil society is an investment in Europe’s security.

[Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya @Tsihanouskaya]

Russia does not always need to invade a country to take control of it. In Belarus, it found a dictator willing to trade our sovereignty for his own survival.

Russian troops are stationed on our soil. Our territory has been used to attack Ukraine. Belarusians who stand up to the dictatorship are locked in prisons and penal colonies.

Ukraine has a democratically elected government defending its independence alongside its people. In Belarus, the man controlling the state opened the door to Moscow and imprisoned those who challenged him.

A European country’s sovereignty was traded for one man’s grip on power. Belarusians never agreed to that bargain.

Our struggle for democracy is also a struggle for independence. Europe must support those fighting for a free Belarus and refuse to accept Russian control over our country as permanent.

Belarus was never Lukashenka’s to sell.

[Ilya Phoenix @ilya_phoenix]

@MacRumors That’s the only update I can get. None of the OS 27 releases show as available.

[Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya @Tsihanouskaya]

Europe’s best defense line is a free Belarus.

We don’t want our country to be a source of threats. A democratic Belarus would deny Moscow a base for aggression and strengthen NATO’s eastern flank.

Investing in Belarusians today is an investment in Europe’s future security.

[Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya @Tsihanouskaya]

Six years ago today, Maria Kalesnikava was kidnapped by the regime’s thugs in Belarus. I am so glad that she is free today, thanks to the efforts of President Trump's Special Envoy John Coale.

We want freedom for every political prisoner and freedom for our country.

[Mimi 🇫🇷🇪🇺 @FacciniMyriam]

Nothing to add.

[Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya @Tsihanouskaya]

We are Belarusians. We are not Russians, and the dictatorship does not speak for us.

In 2020, our nation chose freedom. No repression and no pressure from Moscow can undo that choice. We will make it a reality.

A free Belarus is essential to a safe and prosperous Europe.

[Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya @Tsihanouskaya]

Six years ago, more than 100,000 Belarusians filled the streets of Minsk demanding freedom and justice.

The regime answered with violence, torture and prison.

It forced people from the streets, but never defeated the will of Belarusians to be free.

[Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya @Tsihanouskaya]

Six years ago today, thousands of Belarusian women filled the streets of Minsk. Carrying flowers and ⚪️🔴⚪️ flags, they faced a violent dictatorship with courage and dignity.

The regime feared them because they showed the world what a free Belarus looks like.

[Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський @ZelenskyyUa]

Europe cannot afford to lose any nation that seeks real independence. It is equally important that Belarus is not dragged into Russia’s cruel war and ultimately evolves into a democratic, open, and peaceful country. Ukraine is grateful to those Belarusians who, alongside Ukrainian soldiers, are defending our shared freedom.

[Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya @Tsihanouskaya]

Thirty-five years ago, a coup by Soviet hardliners in Moscow tried to preserve an empire by force. It achieved the opposite.

Lithuania had already restored its independence. As the coup collapsed, Estonia and Latvia restored theirs. Ukraine restored independence on this day in 1991.

In Belarus, the Declaration of State Sovereignty became constitutional law on August 25. Moldova declared independence two days later.

Within months, the Soviet Union ceased to exist.

Today, the Kremlin is again using war, coercion and interference to deny neighbouring nations the right to choose their own future.

Ukraine is defending its independence on the battlefield. The Belarus regime is trading away our sovereignty to preserve its own power.

Moldova and the Baltic states continue to face Russian pressure and hybrid threats.

History reminds us that empires can appear permanent until they suddenly collapse.

Ukraine must win. Belarus must be free. Every nation has the right to decide its own path and live in freedom and peace.

[Ilya Phoenix @ilya_phoenix]

Remembering the victims of the totalitarian and authoritarian regimes.

[Ilya Phoenix @ilya_phoenix]

X-Men’97 Season is so cool! And season 2 episode 2 intro is just amazing!!! #xmen97

[Ilya Phoenix @ilya_phoenix]

The russian terrorist state has nothing sacred left after the attack on the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.

[Ilya Phoenix @ilya_phoenix]

Your boy has been recognized as the Bootheel Area Crisis Intervention Team's First Responder of the Year. So honored and grateful! #award #firstresponder #grateful