In a significant diplomatic development, Belarus released 123 prisoners on Saturday following negotiations with the United States. The release came after John Coale, President Trump’s special envoy for Belarus, held talks with President Alexander Lukashenko on Friday and Saturday at his palace in Minsk.
Among those freed were two prominent opposition leaders: Maria Kolesnikova and Viktor Babariko, both of whom had been imprisoned since 2020. Also released was Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski, who has been a vocal critic of the regime.
Kolesnikova had spent much of her imprisonment in isolation. Her sister, Tatiana Khomich, who campaigned relentlessly for her release, was able to speak with her via video call shortly after her freedom was secured. “She is free, she looks fine, she looks good,” Khomich told reporters, adding that she was eager to embrace her sister.
The majority of the prisoners, including Kolesnikova and 113 others, were handed over to Ukraine at the border, according to Kyiv’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Ukrainian authorities stated that after receiving medical assistance, the prisoners would be transported to Poland and Lithuania. A smaller group, including Bialiatski, was taken directly to the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius.
Video footage from Belarusian media in exile showed Kolesnikova near the border crossing, embracing Babariko and Maksim Znak, another key opposition figure from their 2020 campaign against Lukashenko.
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the exiled Belarusian opposition leader who was waiting outside the US embassy in Vilnius, expressed surprise at the decision to route the prisoners through Ukraine, noting that it was Lukashenko’s choice. After greeting Bialiatski, he told her: “Thousands of people have been and continue to be imprisoned…so our struggle continues.”
Khomich shared that the first thing Kolesnikova said during their call was to thank “the US administration, President Trump, and the Belarus government as well for leading and talking and having these negotiations.”
In exchange for the prisoner release, the United States agreed to lift sanctions on potash, a crucial ingredient in fertilizer and one of Belarus’s most important exports. Coale, quoted by Belarusian state media, confirmed that the sanctions would be lifted immediately. He added: “As relations between the two countries normalise, more and more sanctions will be lifted.”
The deal represents a major win for Lukashenko, who has been internationally isolated since unfair elections five years ago triggered mass street protests. Police brutally suppressed those demonstrations, arresting hundreds, including Kolesnikova. The EU and US have refused to recognize Lukashenko as president, and intense political repression has continued since then.
Western sanctions were further tightened after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, when Russian troops entered through Belarus and missiles were launched from its territory. The current agreement marks a shift in US policy, putting Washington at odds with Europe, where the approach remains focused on sanctions and isolation.
During the talks, Coale also discussed Ukraine with Lukashenko, exploring what assistance Minsk might offer in potential negotiations with Putin.
Other prisoners released on Saturday included Viktor Babaryko, an opposition politician arrested five years ago, and Marina Zolotova, editor-in-chief of independent news site Tut.by.
Tikhanovskaya acknowledged the complex nature of the deal, noting that sanctions serve as “leverage to make dictators do something.” She explained: “Lukashenko will not release people because he somehow became humane, he wants to sell people as expensive as possible. Of course, it is the price. But we understand that American sanctions are rather flexible. They can lift them tomorrow if some deals are not fulfilled.”
The prisoner release and sanctions relief represent the latest development in a monthslong rapprochement between Washington and Minsk. This deal exemplifies President Trump’s transactional diplomacy: a willingness to engage with authoritarian leaders and prioritize trade deals despite human rights concerns.
While the easing of sanctions is limited, it continues a pattern of moves aimed at ending Lukashenko’s isolation-despite his brutal suppression of the 2020 uprising against a rigged election, his role in manufacturing an immigration crisis in Europe in 2021, and his enabling of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
