Lukashenko releases 31 Ukrainians imprisoned in Belarus after US-brokered deal
Express newspaper
23/11/2025 11:23
Belarus’ authoritarian leader, Alexander Lukashenko, has pardoned and released 31 Ukrainian citizens being held in Belarus, a move that Minsk said was part of an agreement reached with US President Donald Trump.
The Ukrainian Committee for the Coordination of the Exchange of Prisoners confirmed their release on November 22, saying it had taken the civilians from Belarusian authorities.
“Women and men detained in Belarus and sentenced to various sentences ranging from two to 11 years are being returned to Ukraine,” the committee said on Telegram.
“We express our gratitude to the United States of America and President Donald Trump for their fruitful work on the return of Ukrainian civilians and military personnel from Belarus and Russia,” he added.
The specific charges on which the prisoners were being held were not made clear.
Ukrainian officials said that “these are civilian men and women who were held for their pro-Ukrainian stance, accused of aiding and abetting Ukraine.”
Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has authorized several prisoner releases over the past year as he seeks to improve relations with the West.
He hopes that better ties will lead to an easing of Western sanctions, imposed after Belarus collaborated with Russia in the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
But as Minsk tries to create the perception of warming relations with Washington, horrifying questions have been raised by accounts of torture and mistreatment from previously released prisoners.
Trump has appointed a special envoy to Belarus, whose task is to hold talks on the release of more prisoners.
The US president, who surprised many by speaking to Lukashenko by phone in August, said in September that he believed the Eastern European country would release many of the hundreds of political prisoners it is holding.
“I believe they will release many of the 1.400 prisoners,” Trump told reporters on September 5, adding that this could happen “in the very near future.”/Radio Free Europe