Belarus has released 123 prisoners, including prominent opposition activist Maria Kolesnikova and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, following an agreement with the United States to ease sanctions on the country.
The releases came after talks in Minsk between Belarusian authorities and John Coale, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Belarus. As part of the deal, Washington agreed to lift sanctions on potash, a key fertiliser component and one of Belarus’s most important exports. Belarus is a close ally of Russia.
“As relations between the two countries normalise, more and more sanctions will be lifted,” Coale said.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled the country for nearly three decades, is not recognised as president by the European Union or the United States following disputed elections in 2020.
Maria Kolesnikova, a leading figure in the 2020 opposition movement, had been imprisoned since that year, much of the time in isolation. Speaking after her release, she described the moment as overwhelming.
“It’s a feeling of unbelievable happiness,” she said. “To see and hug people dear to me, to see the first sunset of my freedom — such amazing beauty.”
She added that her thoughts remained with those still detained. “We think of those who are not yet free. I wait for the moment when we can all hug each other, when all are free.”
According to Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Kolesnikova and 113 other prisoners were handed over to Ukrainian authorities. Ukraine said the group would receive medical assistance before being transferred onward to Poland and Lithuania.
Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who was waiting outside the US embassy in Vilnius, said the decision to send most of the released prisoners to Ukraine had been unexpected and was taken by Lukashenko personally.
A smaller group, including Ales Bialiatski, was transported directly to the Lithuanian capital. After reuniting with Tikhanovskaya, Bialiatski said the struggle was far from over.
“Thousands of people have been and continue to be imprisoned,” he said. “So our struggle continues.”
Kolesnikova’s sister, Tatsiana Khomich, said that when they first spoke, Kolesnikova expressed gratitude to both sides involved in the negotiations. “The first thing she said was thank you to the US administration, President Trump, and to the Belarus government as well for leading and talking and having these negotiations,” Khomich said.
The agreement represents a significant diplomatic breakthrough for Lukashenko, who has faced years of international isolation. Western governments imposed sanctions after the 2020 election, which triggered mass protests that were violently suppressed, leading to widespread arrests and ongoing political repression.
Sanctions were further tightened after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, when Russian troops entered Ukraine via Belarus and missiles were launched from Belarusian territory.
Belarusian state media quoted Coale as saying that sanctions on potash exports would be lifted immediately. He also said he discussed the war in Ukraine with Lukashenko and explored what role Minsk might play in potential talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The US engagement with Belarus marks a sharp shift in policy and contrasts with the European approach, which continues to emphasise sanctions and isolation.
Other high-profile figures released include opposition politician Viktor Babaryko, who was jailed five years ago, and Marina Zolotova, editor-in-chief of the independent news outlet Tut.by.
Commenting on the deal, Tikhanovskaya said sanctions remain an important tool. “Sanctions are leverage to make dictators do something,” she said. “Lukashenko will not release people because he became humane. He wants to sell people as expensively as possible.”
She added that US sanctions could be reinstated if commitments were not met. “They can lift them tomorrow if some deals are not fulfilled.”