The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine commented on the intensification of repressions in Belarus, carried out by Alexander Lukashenko’s regime against the citizens of the country within the framework of the so-called ‘Belarusian Hayun case.’ According to the Belarusian human rights center ‘Viasna,’ a wave of mass detentions has affected many residents, with even minor expressions of civic stance or the use of the Belarusian language serving as grounds for persecution.
This is reported by Kyiv24
“With regret, we note that in neighboring Belarus, the reason for being classified as a ‘traitor,’ ‘conscious,’ or, as Alexander Lukashenko likes to say, ‘freaks,’ can be anything, even an inadvertently spoken word in Belarusian.”
Detentions for the ‘Exchange Fund’
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry emphasized that the mass detentions of citizens within the framework of the ‘Hayun case’ aim to create a so-called ‘exchange fund.’ This mechanism, according to Ukrainian diplomats, allows Lukashenko to negotiate regarding his international standing by exchanging illegally detained individuals for political concessions or indulgences for his regime. The ministry stressed that such actions by the Belarusian authorities grossly violate fundamental human rights and contradict international legal documents.
According to the Foreign Ministry, the mass arrests under the guise of the ‘Hayun case’ are a vivid indication of systemic repression. The ministry called on the international community to exert more pressure on the Belarusian regime and its supporters, reminding that Belarus effectively supported the large-scale Russian aggression against Ukraine in 2022 and must bear responsibility for these actions.
Scale of Persecutions and the ‘Hayun’ Breach
The human rights center ‘Viasna’ reported that as of mid-October 2025, the number of those detained in the ‘Hayun case’ has already reached at least 88 individuals. However, analysts estimate that the actual figure is significantly higher, as detentions continue across the country, primarily focusing on the Gomel region.
This concerns the monitoring channel ‘Belarusian Hayun,’ which has been informing about the movements of Russian troops and other important events on the front since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. In early February 2025, it became known that Belarusian security forces had seized the contact database of the project participants. The head of ‘Hayun,’ Anton Motolko, acknowledged the breach and soon announced the cessation of the resource’s activities, which had been a source of information for many media outlets in Belarus, Ukraine, and abroad.
Human rights defenders predict a further increase in the number of individuals involved in the ‘Hayun case,’ which may exceed one thousand people. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry expressed hope that in the future, a democratic Belarus will be able to overcome the consequences of dictatorship, restore independence, and return to the European community.