After Tuesday night's demonstrations, the night until Wednesday has been calm, says Elin Jönsson, SVT's broadcast reporter in Minsk. At the same time, protesters continue to gather outside, among other places, prisons in Minsk.

- There are still very many arrested, and volunteers try to give them legal help and support when they come out, says Elin Jönsson.

The protesters are calling for new elections and a peaceful transition.

- They want Lukashenko to admit defeat and to calmly, together with a coordination council that has now been created, work out a new election. You want a peaceful transition period and you are not looking to put Lukashenko in the first place, says Elin Jönsson.

Military along borders with EU countries

Mr Lukashenko has deployed military forces along Belarus's western border with Poland, Latvia and Lithuania in response to EU leaders' threats of sanctions against the president, he said on Tuesday night.

Today, Wednesday, the EU Heads of State and Government will hold an extraordinary digital meeting on the situation in Belarus.

- We stand united with the Belarusian people, and wholeheartedly support its right to decide its own future and freely choose its leaders. Belarus's sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as the will of the Belarusian people need to be respected by all, said Prime Minister Stefan Löfven in a statement earlier this week.

Tikhanovskaya appeals to EU leaders

Opposition leader Svetlana Tichanovskaya, who is in exile in Lithuania, has made a statement via video ahead of the EU leaders' meeting.

There, she urges EU countries not to recognize the criticized presidential election, but instead urges them to respect what she calls the real election among the people of Belarus.