Overview
- Kyiv officials said 114 of those pardoned arrived in Ukraine and nine went to Lithuania, including Maryya Kalesnikava, Viktar Babaryka and Nobel laureate Ales Byalyatski.
- Germany said it will offer refuge to Kalesnikava and Babaryka, with authorities pledging swift arrangements for their sanctuary.
- Envoy John Coale and Belarusian reports linked the move to U.S. indications of lifting sanctions on Belarusian potash exports.
- Ukraine welcomed the operation, credited U.S. efforts and President Donald Trump, and President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with the freed detainees and promised continued support.
- Human rights groups warned that more than 1,100 political prisoners remain in Belarusian custody and urged broader unconditional releases.