Protesters in Kyiv demand Pratasevich's release

Protesters including local Belarusians took to the streets of Ukraine's capital on Sunday after a Belarusian opposition figure was detained in Minsk when his plane was grounded over a bomb threat.

The Ryanair plane, headed from Athens to the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, was carrying Belarusian activist and blogger Raman Pratasevich.

It was diverted in what the opposition is calling a hijacking operation by Belarus' government.

Demonstrators in Kyiv waved old white-red-white Belarusian national flags — a symbol of the opposition — and held placards with messages against Belarus' authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko.

Polina Brodik, coordinator of the SOS Free Belarus Center, called for Ukraine to take stronger economic measures against Belarus' "de facto terrorist regime."

Another protester, Sergei Luk'yan, insisted that Ukraine should stop trading altogether with its northern neighbor.

Pratasevich, who was arrested Sunday, is a co-founder of the Telegram messaging app's Nexta channel, which Belarus last year declared as extremist after it was used to help organize major protests against Lukashenko.

Pratasevich, who had fled the country for Poland, faces charges that could carry a prison sentence of up to 15 years.