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War in Ukraine
Democracy Dies in Darkness

A Belarusian battalion fights in Ukraine ‘for both countries’ freedom’

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Updated April 26, 2022 at 3:09 p.m. EDT|Published April 1, 2022 at 2:00 a.m. EDT
Fighters of the Belarusian “Kastus Kalinouski Battalion,” from left: Konstantin Suschik, Pavel Kulazhanka and Siarhei Bespalau in Kyiv on March 30. (Serhiy Morgunov for The Washington Post)
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correction

A previous version of this article contained information provided by Pavel Kulazhanka that was called into question by a source familiar with the situation. Kulazhanka would not respond to questions that challenged his version of events. The information The Post now believes to be suspect involves the length of time he has worked to overthrow Alexander Lukashenko’s regime, the timeline of events before he moved to New York and what his role was in anti-government protests. In addition, the previous version incorrectly said that former Belarus culture minister Pavel Latushko defected a decade ago. It happened in 2020. The article has been corrected.

KYIV — Pavel Kulazhanka advocates for the overthrow of the authoritarian regime of Alexander Lukashenko in his native Belarus.

He left the country in 2011, landing in New York City where he became a mixed martial arts fighter. From there in recent years, he has supported anti-government efforts in his home country, including plots to sabotage train lines and bomb military outposts.