Latushko added that third parties are involved in her disappearance. At the end of March, the Belarusian human rights group Viasna reported that Anzhalika Melnikava, chair of the Belarusian Coordination Council (the government-in-exile of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya), living in Warsaw, went missing. The news was released later at the request of the authorities. A quick rise Anzhalika Melnikava arrived in Poland in 2022 with her husband and two young daughters, initially joining the Białoruś 2020 foundation, which supports political refugees from Belarus. She later moved to Warsaw, became active in the Belarusian opposition circles, and joined the National Anti-Crisis Management (NAU), founded by opposition leader and diplomat Pavel Latushko. In 2024, she entered the Coordination Council — recognized by the Polish Senate as the Belarusian parliament-in-exile — and became its chair. A ‘good friend’ from the KGB According to the Belsat news portal, the Belarusian KGB attempted to pressure Melnikava into cooperating in the spring of 2024. In early April, security officers searched her apartment in Belarus. A few days later, on April 12, a man contacted her via Telegram, introducing himself as her “good friend” and referring to the search. The man mentioned the name of one of her friends, claiming that Melnikava had caused her “a lot of trouble,” but adding that “everything can be resolved.” Belsat reports that this “good friend” was most likely a KGB officer. When Melnikava ignored his messages for an extended period, he told her he would visit her parents and “send greetings” to her mother, providing the woman’s name and address. He again offered to “fix everything,” promising that their conversation would remain confidential unless she chose to reveal it. After this, Melnikava blocked him. Disappearing money and a suspicious affair In March 2025, Melnikava was reported missing. Investigators found she left Poland on February 26, traveling via the U.K. and Sri Lanka to the United Arab Emirates, where her trail went cold. In May, it was found that €150,000 intended for the Coordination Council and the Cyber Partisans had gone missing from a bank account managed by Melnikava. Records indicate she transferred the funds in small installments to her personal account between February and March 24, 2025. Belsat reports that her phone later connected to a network in Minsk, where files belonging to the Belarusian opposition were downloaded. The outlet also claims that, since at least 2023, Melnikava had been romantically involved with Belarusian athlete Aliaksei Hardzeyeu — who was later identified as KGB counterintelligence officer Aliaksei Labieyeu. She allegedly traveled to meet him in Cuba and Sri Lanka, with several reports stating that he proposed to her during one of these trips. The case of Melnikava’s disappearance is being handled by the Warsaw Metropolitan Police’s Criminal Terror and Homicide Division, the National Prosecutor’s Office in Lublin, and the Internal Security Agency, with Melnikava officially recognized as a victim in the investigation.
