What was found next to the hanged Belarusian activist Vitalii Shishov's body and who he was

Viktoriia Hubareva

On the morning of August 2, a 26-year-old guy went for a run and left his building in the Chaika residential area on the outskirts of Kyiv. The young man promised his girlfriend, with whom he rented an apartment, to return in an hour, but it never happened. Vitalii Shishov was last seen on surveillance footage installed near the entrance. He also made several short calls to his acquaintances, which ended abruptly.

Vitalii Shyshov is a Belarusian activist from the Gomel region who took an active part in protests in Belarus during the protests last August. He was soon persecuted by the authorities, and the man was forced to move to Ukraine last fall with his girlfriend, Bozhena Zholud. Here the young couple settled in the Kyiv suburbs. The young man continued to work as an activist and didn't cease to be active in public life. In November, in Kyiv, he stood guard at the memorial to Roman Bondarenko, who was killed by security forces during the protests, set up near the Belarusian embassy. There he met Rodion Batulin, co-founder of the Belarusian House in Ukraine, with whom he began working to help Belarusian immigrants and draw attention to the crimes of the Minsk regime. Interestingly, on the morning of August 5, Ukrainian border guards refused to let Rostyslav Batulin into the country, citing a threat to Ukraine's national security. This is stated in the "Belarusian House in Ukraine" Telegram channel:

"As for a person who risks his life and puts everything at stake for the sake of Ukraine's territorial integrity, such actions and wording are absurd. One of the key witnesses isn't allowed to participate in the investigation, isn't allowed to attend the funeral of a friend," the statement said.