VILNIUS — 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 lift sanctions on Belarusian potash exports, officials and activists said.
The releases followed talks in Minsk with U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Belarus, John Coale, who said the move marked the beginning of a broader normalization of relations between Washington and Minsk.
The United States agreed to lift sanctions on potash, a key component of fertilizer and one of Belarus’ most important exports.
“As relations between the two countries normalise, more and more sanctions will be lifted,” Coale said.
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 “a feeling of unbelievable happiness” at being able to see and embrace people close to her, while stressing that many others remain behind bars.
“It’s a huge happiness to see the first sunset of my freedom,” she said, adding that she was still thinking of those who have not yet been freed.
According to Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Kolesnikova and 113 other prisoners were transferred to Ukraine before being sent on to Poland and Lithuania after receiving medical assistance. A smaller group, including Bialiatski, was taken directly to Vilnius.
After arriving in the Lithuanian capital, Bialiatski said the struggle was far from over, noting that “thousands of people have been and continue to be imprisoned.”
Exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said the decision to transfer many of the released prisoners to Ukraine was unexpected and taken by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, whose rule is not recognized by the European Union following disputed elections in 2020.
The deal represents a significant diplomatic gain for Lukashenko, who has faced years of Western isolation and sanctions over human rights abuses and his country’s close alignment with Russia. Sanctions were tightened further after Russian forces used Belarusian territory during the 2022 war in Ukraine.
Coale was quoted by Belarusian state media as saying the lifting of potash sanctions would take effect immediately. He also said he discussed Ukraine with Lukashenko and the potential role Minsk could play in talks with Moscow.
The U.S. engagement marks a shift in policy that contrasts with the European approach of continued sanctions and isolation. Opposition figures cautioned that the releases were transactional rather than a sign of political change.
“Sanctions are leverage to make dictators do something,” Tsikhanouskaya said, adding that any easing of pressure should remain conditional on further releases and reforms. — Agencies
