October 18, Pozirk. A fundraiser has raised just over €2,000 for Dźmitryj Kučuk, Belarus’ exiled Greens leader, who was released from prison in September 2025 as part of Alaksandar Łukašenka’s deal with Washington and has been living in a shelter for more than two weeks.
The BySol foundation launched the fundraiser on October 13, aiming to raise €2,800. It said Kučuk planned to use the money to cover food and rent.
Kučuk, former chairman of the outlawed Belarusian Greens Party, was sentenced to six years in prison and fined 20,000 rubels (about $6,100) in December 2024 amid a government crackdown on the opposition. He was arrested on February 16, 2024 for attempting to commemorate the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny outside the Russian embassy in Minsk.
In January 2026, opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja appointed him as her aide for environmental affairs.
Kučuk said it had taken him more than seven months to obtain legal status in Lithuania, leaving him unable to work during that period. He had already received financial assistance but spent it on basic necessities.
He said he had set up a company in Lithuania to export household appliances but had run out of money.
“I understand how to break even, but I need to hold out for several more months,” he said, adding that he had been living in a shelter since October 1 because he was unable to pay the rent.
