Belarus releases dissident after highest-level US visit in years
A prominent Belarusian opposition leader, Sergei Tikhanovsky, was unexpectedly released from prison after almost five years in jail following a meeting Saturday in Minsk between Belarusian autocrat Alexander Lukashenko and Gen. Keith Kellogg, President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine.
Tikhanovsky, a popular Belarusian blogger who galvanized anti-Lukashenko sentiment and sought to run for president in 2020, was arrested just ahead of the vote. He was later sentenced to 18 years in prison on charges of organizing mass riots — charges widely seen as politically motivated.
Tikhanovsky was one of thousands of opposition figures and protesters swept up in mass arrests in 2020 following historic nationwide protests against Lukashenko’s nearly three-decade rule. Many were beaten and tortured in detention, and the ensuing brutal crackdown forced many into exile and brought Minsk closer into Moscow’s orbit.
Tikhanovsky was released on Saturday alongside at least a dozen other prominent political prisoners, including former professor Nataliia Dulina and Radio Free Europe journalist Ihar Karnei.
Sergei’s wife, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya — who stepped in following Sergei’s arrest, became the principal candidate against Lukashenko and has since led the Belarusian opposition from exile — shared a video of the couple’s reunion.
“My husband … is free! It’s hard to describe the joy in my heart,” she wrote on X. “Thank you, @POTUS … and our EU allies, for all your efforts.”
“We’re not done. 1150 political prisoners remain behind bars. All must be released,” she continued, attaching a video of the couple embracing.
Kellogg is the first senior U.S. official to visit the authoritarian state since Trump’s first term. In a video of the meeting released by Belarusian state news agency Belta, Lukashenko is seen warmly embracing Kellogg.
“You caused quite a stir in the world with your arrival,” Lukashenko told Kellogg. “[You’re] the most media-savvy person around these days.”
Under Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Belarus is widely regarded as a protectorate for Russia and Russian interests. After Belarus served as a launching pad for Russian troops invading the north of Ukraine in 2022, the European Union doubled down on the sanctions it had imposed on the country after the 2020 elections and crackdown. Lukashenko has since acquiesced to hosting Russian tactical nuclear weapons, including Moscow’s latest: the Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile.
Kellogg’s deputy, John Coale, said the released prisoners had been transferred to Vilnius, Lithuania.
“President Trump’s strong leadership led to the release of 14 prisoners from Belarus today,” Coale wrote on X, thanking the Lithuanian government for its cooperation and assistance.
In January, Lukashenko secured a seventh five-year term in elections rejected as a sham. He has since granted amnesty to more than 250 political prisoners in an apparent attempt to ease Minsk’s isolation on the international stage.
Belarusian analyst and activist Dmitry Bolkunets said he believed that Saturday’s surprise development was “largely thanks to President Trump and the team working with him,” including Kellogg and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“I view this step by Lukashenko as a positive signal, but I believe he is in a situation where he was compelled to take such an action,” Bolkunets said in comments via WhatsApp, adding that it was clear that Lukashenko hoped to normalize relations with the United States and the EU and is probably seeking the easing of sanctions.
“However, he is currently unable to achieve this,” he said. “On the one hand, there is the unresolved issue of political prisoners; on the other, Russia will not allow him to step out of its control.”
“In this regard, Lukashenko is extremely vulnerable and not a fully independent political actor … Kellogg will not have been able to negotiate with him on matters as serious as ending the war in Ukraine,” he added.