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Teah Pelechaty photo

Teah Pelechaty

Opinion Editor

Teah Pelechaty is the opinion editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is also a co-editor of Belarus Weekly, the Kyiv Independent's weekly update on current affairs in Belarus. She received a master’s degree in Global Affairs with a specialization in Global Security and Digital Governance at the University of Toronto and Sciences Po. She was previously a junior policy analyst in national security at the Government of Canada and a research associate with the European Values Center for Security Policy and the Atlantic Council.

[email protected]

Articles

people shelter in Kyiv's Khreshchatyk metro during an air raid alarm on Independence Day, Aug. 24, 2023.

1,000 days of full-scale war: Reflections from the Kyiv Independent team

by Anna Belokur, Francis Farrell, Anastasiia Mozghova, Teah Pelechaty, Daryna Shevchenko, Asami Terajima, Kate Tsurkan
As we mark 1,000 days since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, members of the Kyiv Independent’s staff have paused to reflect. These reflections offer a glimpse into the profound impact of war — not only on a nation’s struggle for survival but on those who bear witness to its unfolding. Francis Farrell War reporter Although I was in Lviv when the full-scale war started, the first months of the war were something I experienced mostly from the outside — through news, at a safe
Belarus weekly

Belarus Weekly: Putin attends the CSTO summit in Minsk, Armenia skips

by Maria Yeryoma, Teah Pelechaty
Belarus hosts the CSTO summit, with the notable attendance of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the absence of Armenia’s representative. Ukraine imposes sanctions on Russian and Belarusian defense sectors for 50 years after the end of the war. The OSCE designates Malta as the organization’s head after Russia and Belarus veto Estonia’s chairmanship. The Belarusian Supreme Court rejects the son of former Belarusian presidential candidate Viktar Babaryka’s appeal. Subscribe to the Newslet
Belarus weekly

Belarus Weekly: Putin attends CSTO summit in Minsk

by Maria Yeryoma, Teah Pelechaty
Belarus gears up for its first elections since the fraudulent presidential election that triggered mass protests and a brutal regime crackdown three years ago. Experts are under no illusions that the upcoming elections will be free or fair. Russia and Belarus veto Estonia’s OSCE chairmanship – a move that Estonia’s foreign minister says is because it’s a NATO member. A report by Yale University finds that over 2,400 children have been deported from occupied Ukraine to facilities across Belarus
Belarus weekly

Belarus Weekly: Poland deploys a tank battalion near its border with Belarus

by Maria Yeryoma, Teah Pelechaty
Subscribe to the Newsletter Belarus Weekly Join us Poland deploys a tank battalion near its border with Belarus citing an eastern threat. Belarus develops a new system that would allow it to inspect all mail coming from the European Union. The European Parliament urges the EU to restrict Russian and Belarusian fertilizer imports amid Russia’s war and Lukashenko’s crackdown on Belarusian civil society. Belarusian potash company Belaruskali intends to sue Lithuania for halting
Belarus weekly

Belarus Weekly: Belarus ranks lowest in Europe for rule of law

by Maria Yeryoma, Teah Pelechaty
Belarus reignites the border crisis spat with Latvia, claiming to have found dead migrants at the countries’ shared border. Latvia denies the claim. The editor-in-chief of an independent Belarusian-language newspaper is sentenced to four years in prison. Human rights groups deem the move politically motivated. Sweden appoints a special envoy to serve as a liaison with Belarus’ exiled democratic forces. Jailed Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski was transferred to solitary confinement.
Belarus weekly

Belarus Weekly: Belarus threatens Lithuania with military action; Lukashenko invites Orban to Minsk

by Maria Yeryoma, Teah Pelechaty
Maria Lvova-Belova, a Russian official wanted by the International Criminal Court for abducting Ukrainian children, visits Minsk to discuss the “protection of children.” Hungary’s foreign minister makes a second controversial visit to Minsk. Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko invites Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to visit Belarus. A Belarusian official claims Minsk has every right to “pave a corridor” through Lithuania to transit its goods – a statement Vilnius calls an “open thr
Belarus weekly

Belarus Weekly: Russia’s growing nuclear capabilities in Belarus

by Maria Yeryoma, Teah Pelechaty
A Wall Street Journal analysis sheds light on Russia’s growing nuclear capabilities in Belarus. Belarus expects over $600 million from Russia to compensate for losses sustained from a Russian tax change back in 2018. Poland issues a European arrest warrant against six members of Lukashenko’s security services. A Belarusian court extends the jail sentence of Zmitser Dashkevich, an anti-regime political activist, by a year, citing bad behavior. For this week’s spotlight, we interviewed Ekateri
Belarus weekly

Belarus Weekly: Post-Soviet strongmen gather in Bishkek, say West tearing them apart

by Maria Yeryoma, Teah Pelechaty
Lukashenko meets with Iran’s first vice president in Minsk to lament Western sanctions amid the countries’ continued support for Russia’s war against Ukraine. Lukashenko attends the CIS summit in Kyrgyzstan to mark Putin’s first trip abroad since his international arrest warrant was issued. The Belarusian parliament approves the first reading of an amended law that would place stifling restrictions on religious organizations across the country. A teenager commits suicide after serving a priso
Belarus weekly

Belarus Weekly: Swiss court acquits Belarusian ‘death squad’ member

by Maria Yeryoma, Teah Pelechaty
Belarus plans a visit for foreign representatives to places where abducted Ukrainian children are held, in an attempt to evade complicity in Russia’s war against Ukraine. Minsk claims again that a Polish helicopter violated its airspace, a claim Warsaw vehemently denies. Belarusian authorities shut down the last officially registered opposition party in the lead-up to the 2024 parliamentary elections. Subscribe to the Newsletter Belarus Weekly Join us Russian and Belarusian
Belarus weekly

Belarus Weekly: 2 Belarus delegations compete for attention at UN General Assembly

by Maria Yeryoma, Teah Pelechaty
Representatives of Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko’s regime attend the UN General Assembly meeting in New York. Belarus’ foreign affairs minister calls for the UN to expand the Security Council. Belarusian democratic forces are also in attendance. Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya urges Lukashenko to be excluded from UN forums. Belarus’ foreign minister claims he cannot imagine a situation where Belarusian forces would join Russia’s war in Ukraine. Subscribe to

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