Наталья Эйсмонт. Скриншот видео
In Belarus, 31 Ukrainian citizens have been pardoned, and their transfer to the Ukrainian side is taking place at this moment. The announcement was made on the Belarus-1 television channel by presidential press secretary Natallia Eismant.
According to her, the pardons became a continuation of agreements reached between Alyaksandr Lukashenka and U.S. President Donald Trump.
“In the development of the agreements reached between the President of the United States Donald Trump and the President of the Republic of Belarus Alyaksandr Lukashenka, at the request of the Ukrainian side, and with the aim of creating conditions for resolving the armed conflict in a neighbouring state, guided by the principles of humanism and as a gesture of goodwill, the president has pardoned 31 Ukrainian citizens who committed criminal offences on the territory of our country. Literally right now, at this very moment, they are being handed over to the Ukrainian side,” she said.
Eismant claimed that Lukashenka “consistently advocates stabilising the situation in the region, establishing dialogue among all states, and resolving all disputes exclusively by peaceful means.”
“Negotiations with various countries, and above all with the United States of America, are now in an active phase. We have always said and continue to say: the Republic of Belarus is open to dialogue and ready to consider proposals from all interested parties,” she stated.
The press secretary also recalled the pardons of Catholic priests Andrzej Yukhnevich and Henrikh Okolotovich.
“This decision was taken at the request of Pope Leo XIV, with the participation of Metropolitan Yuzef Staneuski, as an act of goodwill and guided by the principles of mercy and humanism. Taking into account the health of the convicted priests, as well as for the purpose of developing relations between the Republic of Belarus and the Holy See,” she said.
In December 2024, Henrikh Okolotovich was sentenced to 11 years in prison on charges of high treason, accused of “spying for Poland and the Vatican.”
The sentence for Andrzej Yukhnevich was handed down in April this year. He was sentenced to 13 years in a penal colony. Last year, the priest was given 15 days for displaying the white-red-white and Ukrainian flags on Facebook, followed by several additional administrative arrests. He never regained freedom after that. Okolotovich and Yukhnevich were recognised as political prisoners.