Belarus President Lukashenko rushed to hospital after meeting with Putin: Report

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has "urgently" been taken to a hospital in Moscow and now is in critical condition after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, said the Belarus opposition leader, Valery Tsepkalo. According to Tsepkalo, Lukashenko was taken to Moscow’s Central Clinical Hospital after his meeting with Putin.

What do we know?

"According to preliminary information, subject to further confirmation, Lukashenko was urgently transported to Moscow’s Central Clinical Hospital after his closed-door meeting with Putin. Currently, he remains under medical care there," said Tsepkalo on Twitter.

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He also said that the Belarus president remains under the care of leading specialists to "address his critical condition," adding that blood purification procedures have been conducted and Lukashenko's condition has been deemed "non-transportable".

“The orchestrated efforts to save the Belarusian dictator are aimed to dispel speculations regarding Kremlin's alleged involvement in his poisoning,” said the former presidential candidate and ex-ambassador to the United States.

Rumours about Belarus leader’s health

Rumours centred around Lukashenko’s health have been doing the rounds for some time now.

Earlier on May 9, Lukashenko left Russia soon after the Victory Day parade in Moscow. He skipped lunch with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Media reports say that during his Russia visit, Lukashenko looked visibly tired and that his right hand was in a bandage.

Lukashenko's last public appearance was when he laid flowers in Belarus's capital Minsk during the country's own Victory Day celebrations (May 9), which he had attended hours after returning from Moscow.

He later appeared in public and dismissed the rumours saying, "I'm not going to die, guys. You'll have to struggle with me for a very long time to come."

The 68-year-old is among Putin's closest allies. According to media reports, Lukashenko, sounding hoarse, told a meeting on health issues that he had been suffering from an adenovirus, a common cold virus, earlier this month.

"If someone thinks I am going to die, calm down," said Lukashenko, adding that he only took three days to recover and had been too busy to take time off immediately.

Who is Valery Tsepkalo?

Tsepkalo, a former head of Belarus’ Silicon Valley, the High Technology Park and a former presidential candidate who intended to run in 2020, but was barred from registering. Notably, this wife, Veronika Tsepkalo, is one of three women who led historic opposition protests ahead of the Belarus presidential election in 2020.

In April, Tsepkalo was sentenced to 17 years in a high-security prison, as per the state-run news agency Belta. He also fled Belarus three years ago and is currently based in Latvia, where reportedly helps Belarusian refugees and female victims of political repression.

(With inputs from agencies)

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