Jailed Belarusian protest leader out of intensive care – ally

KYIV (Reuters) – Jailed Belarusian protest leader Maria Kolesnikova has been moved from intensive care to a different ward and her condition is improving, her political allies said on Thursday.

The diagnosis of the outspoken critic of Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has still not been disclosed by the hospital where she underwent surgery on Monday, opposition politician Viktor Babariko’s Telegram account said.

Her father was told at the hospital that she had been able to eat, the Telegram account said. Her allies have said she may have a perforated ulcer according to unconfirmed information.

Reuters was unable to verify the condition of Kolesnikova.

She is one of the leaders of mass street protests against Lukashenko in 2020, who is now serving an 11-year sentence for what she said were trumped-up allegations of involvement in mass unrest.

(Writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by Alex Richardson)