28-year-old Ukrainian woman from Mariupol sentenced in Minsk for political reasons. Why she came from Poland to Belarus is unclear
Due to difficulties with work and health, Oksana Dziachuk was preparing to return to her hometown, even under occupation.
Oksana Dziachuk. Photo from her Telegram
Oksana Dziachuk was born in 1998 in Mariupol. In the spring of 2022, when Russian troops stormed the city, she desperately tried to find her mother — teacher Natallia Yaustafyeuna — in local chats, with whom communication had been lost for over a month.
The family's apartment was destroyed, and her mother was left homeless as a result. Oksana herself then managed to leave for Volhynia (to Turiisk and Kovel), but already in November 2022, she was looking for opportunities to go further abroad for work.
In the autumn of 2023, the girl moved to Poland with her Belarusian boyfriend. They settled in the city of Zielona Góra, where Oksana got a job at a warehouse. In emigrant chats, she was clarifying legal details for her boyfriend with a Belarusian passport.
Oksana Dziachuk. Photo from her Telegram
At the end of 2025, Dziachuk shared her frustration over unresolved domestic issues and illnesses: "I fell ill, didn't resolve the work issue, and now it seems I'll have to return to my hometown. I didn't do even half of what I wanted."
What happened next is unclear. Dziachuk went to Belarus — or through Belarus — but ended up in a pre-trial detention center. This happened at the beginning of this year.
Oksana Dziachuk was convicted in the Minsk City Court for "facilitating extremist activity" (Part 1, Article 361-4 of the Criminal Code). Usually, in such cases, people are tried for transmitting information about the movement of Russian troops, providing informational assistance to Ukraine and political prisoners, and giving interviews to independent and foreign media.