Lukashenko says he's not going to die yet

Alexander Lukashenko, the self-proclaimed president of the Republic of Belarus, said on Tuesday, 23 May that ill health was the reason for his absence from public life.

Source: BelTA, a Belarusian news outlet, citing Lukashenko during a government meeting on 23 May

Details: The Belarusian dictator said discussions about his health were "just idle speculation on messaging apps and Telegram channels".

"They said it was an adenovirus or something? An adenovirus. That’s nothing… But because I didn’t have an opportunity to get treatment… it all built up. But I’m not going to die yet, friends. You’re going to have to put up with me for a very long time," Lukashenko added.

He did not say exactly what his illness was; adenoviruses can cause a wide range of illnesses, from acute respiratory diseases to potentially lethal diseases for people with weak immune systems.

Background: There had been no information about Lukashenko’s whereabouts or the state of his health for a long time. He had not appeared in public or participated in official events since the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow and Minsk on 9 May.

Independent journalists reported that on the evening of 13 May, Lukashenko’s convoy, accompanied by a State Road Patrol special unit, arrived at the Republican Clinical Medicine Centre of the Presidential Administration.

In the light of rumours about Lukashenko’s illness, Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has said that the opposition should be "well prepared for every scenario".

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