When Alexei turned 18, he wanted to go to defend Ukraine – but instead, he was imprisoned. After his release, he moved to Kyiv and volunteered at a Belarusian “Point of Invincibility.” Now he is asking for support to pursue education and rebuild his life.
Alexei Kaplich is one of the youngest Belarusian political prisoners. He comes from the village of Sinkevichi in the Luninets district of the Brest region – just a few dozen kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
When Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, Alexei was only 15 years old. From the very first days of the war, he decided that he would do everything possible to get to Ukraine and join the fight as a volunteer against the invasion. Near his home was a military airfield in Luninets, which Russian aviation actively used at the start of the war. Alexei began photographing aircraft and sending the images to Ukrainian security service chatbots.
“I read posts from Belarusians already fighting in Ukrainian units, corresponded with some of them, and planned to join the Third Assault Brigade,” he recalls.
After finishing school, he moved to Brest, got a job, and waited until he turned 18 so he could leave for Ukraine. On March 30, 2025, Alexei turned 18 – and the very next day he bought a plane ticket. However, he was detained at the airport before he could leave.
“They put a bag over my head, handcuffed me, and said I was detained,” Alexei says. “Then they took me to the central KGB office. During the first interrogation, they cut my hand with a blade. I was fed once every two days. For eleven days, I was given one two-liter bottle of water. There was a hook and a winch in the room – they lifted me by my handcuffed arms and beat me.”
After two months in a KGB pre-trial detention center, Alexei was transferred to a detention facility in Kalyadzichy. In the summer of 2025, he was sentenced to two years in prison under Article 361-3 (mercenarism). He was sent to serve his sentence in one of Belarus’s harshest colonies – Penal Colony No. 17 in Shklov, where he spent two months, including 35 days in a punishment cell.
In December 2025, he was released along with several dozen other political prisoners, including Viktor Babariko and Maria Kalesnikava, following another round of negotiations involving a U.S. presidential envoy and Alexander Lukashenko.
After gaining freedom, Alexei left Belarus for Ukraine. He initially planned to join the Ukrainian armed forces, but in Kyiv he instead joined volunteers who organized the first Belarusian “Point of Invincibility” – a place where people can warm up, charge their phones, and wait out power outages during Russian attacks.
After speaking with Belarusians already fighting in Ukraine, he reconsidered going to the front: “They convinced me not to go. They said: it’s better for you to build your life. Study, develop.”
Now 18, Alexei works temporary jobs, but without a residence permit he cannot find stable employment. His goal is to get an education, legalize his status, and build a future in Ukraine: “I want to stay here. Study, work, live in Ukraine, and help it. The war will end, and the country will need to be rebuilt.”
When he left Belarus, he had only the clothes he was wearing in prison. Funds previously raised for former political prisoners were spent on necessities. Now, while waiting for documents and a work permit, Alexei needs support to cover housing and essential expenses.
Fundraising goal
€2100
€1350 – rent for 3 months
€600 – food and daily living expenses
€150 – documents for legalization and enrollment in education