Lukashenko released 250 political prisoners after US delegation visit

In Belarus, after the visit of the American delegation to Minsk, 250 people were released, 235 of those released will remain in Belarus, and 15 will be deported from the country.

This is reported by the opposition Belarusian publication Nasha Niva.

Some people were immediately deported after their release. Among those released were journalists, activists, and protest participants, including:

• Kateryna Andreeva — a journalist;
• Eduard Palchys — a blogger;
• Nasta Loika — human rights activist;
• Mykyta Zolotar — he was detained as a minor, he received five years in prison and another year and a half for pushing a security guard;
• Mykhailo Lapunov — Mykytaʼs father, also a political prisoner;
• Serhiy Mavshuk — he received six and a half years for participating in the protests, his wife was deported in February 2025;
• Kyrylo Kazei — he was sentenced in 2020 to seven years;
• Mykola Kulyashov — a former customs officer who helped people cross the border;
• Denys Zhalezko — he was convicted on nine political articles at once, served about two years out of five;
• Pavlo Shpetny — an anarchist, received eight years in the "Revolutionary Actions" case;
• Kim Samusenko — was sentenced to six and a half years, his brother Oleksiy is already at large;
• Oleksandr Kozlyanka — an activist of "Revolutionary Action", received seven and a half years for the events of 2018;
• Dmytro Kubarov — a designer who was sentenced to eight years after the 2020 elections for allegedly possessing components for Molotov cocktails.

Also at the meeting, the US President Donald Trumpʼs special envoy John Cole said that the US is lifting sanctions on the company “Beloruskaliy”, “Belinvestbank”, and the Ministry of Finance of Belarus, writes Belta.

Cole also said that US sanctions will be lifted "much faster" than in the past. He also said that delegations are working to restore the US embassy in Belarus.

• On December 13, 2025, the self-proclaimed President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko pardoned 123 prisoners of various countries. Most were transferred to Ukraine.

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