In return for Trump lifting sanctions, Belarus freed 123 political prisoners — then expelled most to Ukraine without passports

Over the weekend, Aleksandr Lukashenko of Belarus released 123 political prisoners in exchange for the United States lifting sanctions on the country’s potash sector. Lukashenko has routinely deported freed political prisoners in recent years, usually to Lithuania. This time, however, most were sent to Ukraine — a route that appears to have surprised both the prisoners and the Ukrainian authorities. The day after their release, several of the most prominent figures appeared at a press conference in a hospital in Ukraine. Here’s what we know so far.

Belarus freed 123 political prisoners on Saturday, including some of the most prominent figures from the country’s 2020 opposition protests. According to Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, the move was carried out at U.S. President Donald Trump’s request, “in connection with the lifting of illegal sanctions against the potash sector.” Hours before news of the release broke, the United States announced it was lifting sanctions on state-owned potash giant Belaruskali that had been in place since 2021.

The Belarusian authorities have routinely deported all political detainees immediately upon release in recent years, typically to Lithuania. This time, however, 114 of the 123 freed prisoners were sent to Ukraine. Exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s office said Lukashenko changed the route at the last minute and that Ukraine had not been prepared to receive the former prisoners. Tsikhanouskaya thanked Ukrainian authorities for “mobilizing quickly” to accept the group.

Lukashenko’s press secretary, Natallia Eismant, claimed the transfer to Ukraine was “in exchange for wounded Russians and Belarusians taken prisoner there,” but the Ukrainian project I Want to Live, which helped transport the prisoners, rejected that account outright.

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Among those released was Maria Kalesnikava, one of the leaders of the 2020 protests, who had spent 1,808 days behind bars. Nasha Niva reported that Kalesnikava had been moved from a penal colony to a pre-trial detention facility shortly before her release, so she could gain weight and “appear more presentable.” After crossing into Ukraine, Kalesnikava said she felt “incredible happiness” but that she was thinking of those who remain behind bars.

Also freed was Viktar Babaryka, the former head of Belgazprombank and a challenger to Lukashenko in the 2020 election, who had been arrested two months before the vote. Kalesnikava served as his campaign coordinator and became a leading face of the protests after his arrest. She herself was arrested a month after the election. The authorities tried to forcibly expel her from Belarus, but she tore up her passport at the border. Both she and Babaryka were held incommunicado.

Others freed included Ales Bialiatski, head of the human rights center Viasna and a 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate; Maryna Zolatava, the editor-in-chief of the shuttered independent outlet Tut.by; human rights activist Vladimir (Uladzimir) Labkovich; political analyst and former Lukashenko press secretary Aliaksandr Fiaduta; Maksim Znak, another former campaign associate of Babaryka’s; opposition politician Pavel Seviarynets; five Ukrainian citizens; and citizens of Japan, Lithuania, Latvia, and the United States.

Among those still imprisoned are Babaryka’s son, Eduard; Tut.by director Liudmila Chekina; and Polish-Belarusian journalist Andrzej Poczobut, who, according to Zerkalo, refused to petition for a pardon.

‘Thousands of people are still there’

On Sunday, Viktar Babaryka, Maria Kalesnikava, Aliaksandr Fiaduta, and Vladimir (Uladzimir) Labkovich appeared together at a press conference in a hospital in Ukraine’s Chernihiv region. The Ukrainian authorities hosting the event barred live broadcasts and asked reporters not to publish images or quotes until an hour after the session ended, citing fears Russian forces could target the facility.

In her remarks, Kalesnikava thanked Trump and his team “for getting this process unstuck,” and expressed gratitude to President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Ukrainian public “for accepting us” and for the warmth they had felt since arriving in Ukraine. She also thanked Lukashenko “for making the release possible,” saying she would welcome “all further steps in that direction.” She then spoke of the support she had felt from her family and colleagues while in custody.

Labkovich said the group had been taken out of Belarus with no passports. He and others had only a sheet of paper with a photo and a note stating that they had been freed and that their passports were confiscated. He thanked Ukrainian authorities for accepting the freed prisoners despite their lack of documents. Kalesnikava added that although the prisoners were aware of negotiations between a Trump representative and Lukashenko, they had not known Ukraine was involved and learned of their destination only after arriving there.

Babaryka described episodes of “uncontrolled loss of consciousness” during his imprisonment, including one time when he awoke with a broken rib, a torn lung, double pneumonia, and “23 lacerations of the skull.” He said he did not know what caused the injuries. The hardest part of his imprisonment, he added, had been near-total isolation from the outside world. He spoke about his still-imprisoned son, saying he was proud of how Eduard Babaryka is “enduring those hardships with dignity.”

But Babaryka emphasized that attention must remain on all those who have not been freed. “It would be a great betrayal to forget that thousands of people are still there,” he said. “I will sleep calmly not when my son is free, but when no one is left there.”Asked whether he planned to return to political life, Babaryka said that if Belarus needs him, he will “try to do something” for the country. He added that in the last 24 hours he had learned “that nothing has stopped — everything that began continues.”

Both Babaryka and Kalesnikava said they did not regret their decisions to participate in the 2020 presidential race. “Even after great trials and great suffering,” Kalesnikava said, “in such pivotal moments, if you can [do something] — you must.” Babaryka added that the moment he realized they’d done the right thing was “when Masha tore up her passport.”

According to the Viasna Human Rights Center, more than 1,200 political prisoners remain behind bars in Belarus. In the past week alone, human rights groups have recognized another 10 detainees as political prisoners. Since 2020, more than 7,000 Belarusians have been convicted in politically motivated cases, according to Viasna.