Belarus election inspires no confidence in society – Ukrainian Foreign Ministry
Ukraine reports 5,276 new COVID-19 cases Zelensky: Every third Ukrainian considers road construction one of greatest achievements of 2021 Ukraine ready to implement Minsk agreements, but Russia's desire needed - Yermak Michel: EU unanimously agree to roll over economic sanctions against Russia Actions by Ukraine's partners will help prevent worst-case scenario - Zelensky COVID-19 in Ukraine: Health officials confirm 8,899 daily cases as of Dec 17 Macron tells Zelensky he declared support for Ukraine in call with Putin Zelensky, Scholz discuss gas transit through Ukraine after 2024 Ukraine ready for any format of talks with Russia - Zelensky Ukraine’s only journalist in Russia facing extremism charges - lawyer PM Shmyhal: First two applications for investment projects worth $96 million filed Zelensky, PM of Italy discuss security situation around Ukraine President signs off State Budget 2022 London considering all options for responding to Russia's aggression against Ukraine Putin, Biden to hold another round of talks Some 260,000 Ukrainians “victims of human trafficking” over 30 years - prosecutor general Ukraine plans to create center to protect energy infrastructure from cyber attacks No clear idea so far when Normandy Four top diplomats set to meet - German Ambassador Ukraine receives EUR 600M in macro-financial assistance from EU Zelensky holds phone conversation with PM of Israel Ukraine sets new daily COVID vaccination record MFA: European Union has not yet removed Ukraine from list of safe countries Kyiv records 1,023 new COVID-19 cases, 29 deaths G7 ambassadors welcome adoption of law on NABU status Ukraine can increase Covid vaccination rates to 1.5M a week – Liashko

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has released a statement in connection with events in Belarus where protests have been going on for a week after the presidential election.
According to the statement posted on the ministry's website, the official election results "do not inspire confidence in Belarusian society." The ministry also added that Ukraine generally shares the position of the European Union.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry expressed concern over the brutality of security forces against protesters, journalists and foreigners.

"Ukraine is extremely concerned about the cases of unjustified brutality of law enforcement officers against citizens participating in the protests, media representatives and foreigners," the statement said.

Ukrainian diplomats called on the Belarusian leadership "not to allow further political persecution of its opponents and Belarusian citizens who took to the streets to demonstrate their position."

"We expect the release of some detainees from custody to be the beginning of a dialogue between the authorities and civil society in order to find compromises," the statement said.

After the presidential election in Belarus on August 9, people went out en masse to protest against the rigging of voting results. They support Alexander Lukashenko's main rival, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who they say defeated the incumbent by a wide margin.

The rallies are accompanied by violence by security forces and detentions. Some protesters were killed.

On August 14, the Central Election Commission of Belarus declared Lukashenko, who has ruled the country since 1994, the winner of the election. According to the CEC, he garnered 80.08% of the vote, whereas Tikhanovskaya collected 10.09%.