Barbados Times

Barbados, Caribbean & World News
Sunday, May 28, 2023

Photo of Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko published after he missed key events

Photo of Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko published after he missed key events

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko had not been seen in public for almost a week - fuelling speculation he was ill. But a photo of the leader has now been published by a state news channel to push back against the rumours.
A photo of Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, has been published by a national state news channel after speculation that he was seriously ill.

The Belarusian outlet, Pul Pervogo, posted the photo of the 68-year-old on its Telegram channel - which is known for reporting on the president - after his whereabouts were unknown for almost a week.

The channel said the president was working at a central air force command base.

In the post, he is standing stern-faced as he receives a salute with a bandage tied to his left hand.

Mr Lukashenko had not been seen in public since last Tuesday (9 May) at Victory Day events in Moscow, and later in the Belarusian capital, Minsk.

The last public photo of him at the Russian ceremony showed him appearing unwell with his right hand bandaged up.

Konstantin Zatulin, first deputy of the Committee of CIS countries in Russia's state Duma, confirmed to Sky News that Mr Lukashenko was ill.

"The fact that he was sick was obvious even during the parade in Moscow," he said.

"I know that he is ill but I am not authorised to distribute his diagnosis."

He added it was not COVID.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin would not be drawn into matters of his health - saying there had been no official news from Belarus.

Mr Lukashenko also failed to show up at a ceremony in Minsk - the annual Day of State Emblems celebration - on Sunday.

Instead, the prime minister, Roman Golovchenko, read a message on the president's behalf.

Mr Lukashenko seemed to be ill while attending the stripped-down parade in Moscow last week, skipping parts of the commemoration that marks Russia's victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War.

He left Red Square in a buggy for the wreath-laying ceremony as other CIS country leaders accompanied Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, on foot to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

On his return to Minsk, Mr Lukashenko attended another wreath-laying ceremony there, but for the first time in his long presidency did not give a Victory Day address.

Mr Lukashenko's office has declined to comment.

Commenting on the rumours about Mr Lukashenko's health, the leader of the Belarusian opposition in exile, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, tweeted that Belarusians "should be well prepared for any scenario... To turn Belarus on the path to democracy and to prevent Russia from interfering".

Ms Tsikhanouskaya added: "We need the international community to be proactive and fast."
Newsletter

Related Articles

Barbados Times
Close
0:00
0:00
Pfizer, the EU, and disappearing ink - Smoke, Mirrors, and the Billion-Dose Pfizer Vaccine Deal: EU's 'Open Secret
Actor Tom Hanks told Harvard University graduates to be superheroes in their defense of truth and American ideals, and to resist those who twist the truth for their own gain
The Sussexes' Royal Rebound: Could Harry and Meghan Markle Return to the UK?
A provocative study suggests: Left-Wing Extremism and its Unsettling Connection to Psychopathy and Narcissism
France Arrests 10 on Suspicion of Failing to Respond in Time to Migrant Drowning
Neuralink Receives FDA Approval for First-in-Human Clinical Study
Is Saudi Arabia the holiest place in the world? Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions from "The Mount Sinai Stand" Discovered in Saudi Arabia
Ukrainian Intelligence Official Admits to Assassination Attempts on Putin
Bernard Arnault Loses $11.2 Billion in One Day as Investors Fear Slowdown in US Growth Will Reduce Demand for Luxury Products
Russian’s Wagner Group leader: “I am not a chef, I am a butcher. Russia is in danger of a revolution like in 1917.”
TikTok Sues Montana Over Law Banning the App
Ron DeSantis Jumps Into 2024 Presidential Race, Setting Up Showdown With Trump
Last Walmart in North Portland Closing Down
Florida's DeSantis seeks to disqualify judge in Disney case
Talks between US House Republicans and President Biden's Democratic administration on raising the federal government's $31.4tn debt ceiling have paused
Biden Administration Eyeing High-Profile Visits to China: The Biden Administration is heating things up by looking into setting up a series of top-level visits to Beijing by top officials in the coming months
New evidence in special counsel probe may undercut Trump’s claim documents he took were automatically declassified
A French court of appeals confirmed former President Nicolas Sarkozy's three-year jail term for corruption and influence peddling
Debt Ceiling Crises Have Unleashed Political Chaos
Weibao Wang, a former software engineer at Apple, was charged with stealing trade secrets related to autonomous systems, including self-driving cars
Mobile phone giant Vodafone to cut 11,000 jobs globally over three years as new boss says its performance not good enough
Elon Musk compares George Soros to Magneto, the supervillain from the Marvel Comics series.
Warren Buffett Sells TSMC Shares Over Concerns About Taiwan's Stability
New Study Finds That Secondary Bacterial Pneumonia Is a Major Cause of Death in COVID-19 Patients Who Require Ventilator Assistance
The Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines calls the British monarchy "an absurdity" he wants to remove in his lifetime
King Charles III being crowned.
'Godfather Of AI' Geoffrey Hinton Quits Google To Warn Of The Tech's Dangers
A Real woman
Vermont Man Charged with Stalking After Secretly Tracking Woman with Apple AirTag
Elon Musk Statements About Tesla Autopilot Could Be 'Deepfakes,' Lawyers Claim. Judge Evette Pennypacker Does Not Understand How Far and Advanced This Technology Became
Ukraine More Prepared for Counterattack as Reinforcements Arrive
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni Discuss Migration, Defence, and Ukraine
AT&T's Successful Test of Satellite-Based Phone Call Raises Possibility of Widespread Coverage
CNN: "Joe Biden is asking for four more years — when 74% of Americans think the country is heading the wrong way“
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Cuts Short Live TV Interview Due to Health Issue
US Congresswoman threaten Twitter Files journalist with arrest
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh slams New York Times' pro-government stance and treatment of sources
Enough is enough: it's time to end the war in Ukraine. While Russia may be to blame for starting it, Russia is not the one refusing to stop it
Fox News Settles their case with Dominion Voting Systems for a staggering $787.5 MILLION
AG decries scapegoating and rushed lawmaking by government
The land of the free violence
21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira has been arrested for leaking classified Pentagon Documents
The Supreme Court will allow a 12-year-old transgender West Virginia girl to compete on her middle school’s girls' sports teams amid a lawsuit over a ban
Bank of America cuts short conference after outrage at Ukraine comments
Revealed: royals took more than £1bn income from controversial estates
Mitt Romney calls Trump indictment 'overreach,' says charges were 'stretched' to suit a 'political agenda'
The G-7 aims to make global crypto regulations tougher
Don’t Dismiss China’s Peacemaking Bid
China and Brazil have signed a new deal that will allow them to trade in their own currencies, bypassing the US dollar as an intermediary
Elon Musk and Others Call for Pause on A.I., Citing ‘Profound Risks to Society’
×