Lukashenko says Ukraine must investigate Shishov's murder

He said this at a press conference on August 9, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"Even high-ranking people [in Ukraine] started nodding at Belarus [in connection with Shishov's death]. We need to make things clear. If you reproached us, put the facts on the table. When was Lukashenko there? With what rope did he come there? Why did he hang him? […] The crime was committed on your territory," Lukashenko said.

According to him, no one from Belarus would go and hang a Belarusian political immigrant, because "if one is hanged, tomorrow there will be another one, you cannot hang everyone."

Lukashenko also said that Shishov was "supported by the secret services of Ukraine" and he "was hanged or he hanged himself" in Ukraine, so Ukraine must investigate his death and give Belarus "an answer as to who hanged a Belarusian citizen, and how."

Earlier reports said that Belarusian citizen Vitaly Shishov, who went missing on August 2 had been found hanged in a Kyiv park.

Police launched a criminal case under Article 115 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (premeditated murder) and will investigate all theories, including the theory that it was the killing disguised as suicide.

The Belarusian House in Ukraine said the head of the organization, Vitaly Shishov, had been under surveillance.

The Belarusian House in Ukraine reported on social media that Shishov moved to Ukraine in the autumn of 2020 after participating in protests in Gomel.

On August 9, 2020, mass protests began in Belarus against the rigging of the results of the presidential election, in which Alexander Lukashenko was declared the winner. Authorities brutally suppressed protests, and repression is used against the opposition.

Most democracies in the world, including Ukraine, do not recognize the legitimacy of the Lukashenko regime.

op