Иллюстративное фото: @belwarriors
Since February 2022, at least 419 people, including 73 women, have been convicted in Belarus for supporting Ukraine. Of these, 142 remain behind bars, the Viasna Human Rights Center reports.
According to human rights defenders, the prosecutions are linked to sharing information about the movement of Russian military equipment across Belarus, donations, railway sabotage and participation in Ukrainian military formations. They note that the actual number of criminal prosecutions may be significantly higher.
The largest group, 222 people, were convicted of facilitating “extremist activity” under Article 361-4 of the Criminal Code. These cases involved sharing photos and videos showing the movement of Russian military equipment. Another 44 people were convicted of “high treason” in connection with their support for Ukraine, while 17 foreign nationals received sentences for “intelligence activities.”
A total of 29 people were convicted in terrorism-related cases, including railway sabotage and the incident in Machulishchy. Another 45 people received sentences over money transfers that investigators classified as financing “terrorist activities” or “extremist formations.”
One of the largest cases linked to the war in Ukraine was the “Hajun case.” The prosecutions began after the monitoring project Belarusian Hajun’s bot was hacked on February 5, 2025. Since 2022, the bot had been used to submit information about the movement of Russian military equipment through Belarus. After the users’ personal data fell into the hands of security forces, arrests began across the country.
As of October 22, 2026, human rights defenders were aware of 141 people implicated in the case. Forty-one remain behind bars. Recently, 31-year-old resident of Khoiniki Artur Syrakvasha was sentenced to three and a half years in a penal colony.
Another category of people prosecuted comprises the “railway partisans,” who were accused of sabotage on the railway following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. According to Viasna, 10 political prisoners detained in connection with such acts of sabotage remain behind bars. Human rights defenders have reported the use of violence and torture during arrests. None of the “railway partisans” has been released through a pardon or prisoner exchange.
In Belarus, 42 people were convicted under the article on participation in military operations on the territory of a foreign state without state authorization for joining the Kalinouski Regiment or intending to fight on Ukraine’s side. Twenty-three people were convicted in the “Kalinoŭski Regiment case.” Former volunteers Vasil Verameichyk, Maksim Ralko and Andrei Siarheyeu remain in prison.
In addition, Belarusian volunteers and activists living abroad continue to face trials in absentia, while their relatives are also subjected to pressure. A total of 37 in absentia sentences have been handed down in connection with the war in Ukraine. In early October, special proceedings were launched against five volunteers: Aliaksandr Butko, Artsiom Voinich, Aliaksandr Hryb (Hryhoryeu), Aleh Kalush and Yauhen Listapad.