Media: Speaker Melnikov Flew To Sri Lanka And May Be In Belarus

She's missing with 118,000 euros.

The disappeared speaker of the "coordination council" (CC) Anzelika Melnikova may be in Belarus, according to an investigation published on May 6 by the Polish publication Polityka. A translation of the article is cited by "Pozirk".

Citing "two independent sources," the media outlet reports that Melnikova flew from Warsaw to London on February 26, where she "changed planes to Sri Lanka."

It is noted that Melnikova previously vacationed in this South Asian island nation - in January 2024 in the city of Unawatuna. She "spent time there in the company of a man."

The publication quotes the words of an unnamed friend of the CC speaker, who allegedly said: Melnikova showed her photos of the man and "his wedding ring" and "said that he was from Belarus, a sportsman, and that she was in love with him."

The publication claims that Melnikova did not inform "colleagues from the opposition" about her acquaintance with the man because he resides in Belarus and it could have "caused concern among other activists."

"The man posing as a sportsman could be a Belarusian KGB officer. The last trip to Sri Lanka turned out to be a trap prepared by the special services. One can easily get from the island to Russia, and then to Belarus. There are regular and charter flights. Perhaps Melnikova boarded one of these airplanes - of her own free will, forced or under blackmail," the material says.

The publication states that "there are many question marks in Angelica's story." "The first concerns her ties with Belarus. Her mother still lives in Niasvizh. Her daughters, for whose safety she feared when she left Belarus, also returned there and lived with their grandmother for a year. At that time, Angelika was in Poland and was engaged in obtaining funding for the Belarusian opposition," the authors note.

The former husband of the CC Speaker Andrzej Melnikov also "regularly traveled to Belarus," while, according to Polityka, "in 2024, they lived together again." The couple "rented an apartment (over 90 square meters) in the Bemowo district of Warsaw," and "the girls lived with them and studied at a private school."

The article states that "in February 2025, when the U.S. froze funding for pro-democracy organizations, Angelika gave up the salary she was supposed to receive for her work at the People's Crisis Management Office." "Also [she] funded a prize for authors of the most interesting projects that would help fight Lukashenko's regime. It was supposed to be 10 thousand euros! A huge sum for the impoverished Belarusian opposition

According to the media, earlier this year, "Angelika began to behave strangely": "Friends noticed that she looked depressed. She cared less about her appearance than anything else. At her birthday party (Feb. 12), a friend accidentally took her iPhone. Angelica panicked. She asked to be taken to that girl's house. A witness to the incident said that as soon as she got her phone back, she reset all the settings to factory default."

"She stopped using the car. She was taking an [cab] Uber to appointments. Turns out the car belonged to her ex-husband and was sold earlier this year. It was like they were planning an escape together. Angelica then started telling us all that she needed a vacation and that she wanted to go to London. She asked for a vacation at NAU. She left on February 26. Did the children fly away with her? The services informed [NAU head] Pavel Latushko that this is the case, but we are not sure about it," the publication says.

According to the publication, "shortly after that, on the night of March 1 to 2, the ex-husband packed the things that were in the apartment, including a microwave oven and a lamp. "On March 3, he "crossed the border with Belarus by bus."

"At that time, Angelika's colleagues and friends were sure that she had returned to Poland. She herself gave that impression - answering phone calls and text messages. She only explained that she was ill (pneumonia, covid) and would not be able to come to Latuszko's office," the investigators report.

They do not rule out that "it was money-related." "On March 12, a large grant was transferred to her foundation's account. Shortly after that, the money was withdrawn, totaling 118,000 euros," the publication says.

The media reports that Melnikova "appeared for the last time" at Workers Zoom on March 21. "She said only a few sentences. She looked tired. On March 24, as announced, she was supposed to be in the office, but she didn't show up," the piece specifies.

The story quotes Latushko, who allegedly reported that the last text message from Melnikova "came on March 25 at a strange time, at 6:05." "She wrote that she would not come to the [Warsaw] Freedom March. True, the Freedom March took place two days earlier. Angelika must have known about it," Latuszko said. From this, the authors of the investigation concluded that the message was not written by Melnikova.

"Since then, no one knows what is happening to Angelika Melnikova and her daughters Anna and Tatiana. At the end of March, her ex-husband received a call from a journalist. He said he was in Belarus with the children and asked not to bother him anymore," the article notes.

The authors of the publication are Polish investigative reporter Pawel Reszka, as well as Russian journalists Timur Olevsky and Evgenia Tamarchenko, cooperating with the Russian edition of The Insider, specializing in media investigations.

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