American detained in Belarus is freed
By Jennifer Hansler, CNN
(CNN) — An American detained in Belarus has been freed, a US official told CNN on Wednesday.
Youras Ziankovich was arrested in Moscow in 2021 and then was brought to Belarus’s capital Minsk, where he was accused of being part of a US-backed coup plot against Belarus’ strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko. The US State Department denied any such involvement.
There was not a prisoner swap that led to Ziankovich’s release, the official said. He was declared wrongfully detained in February 2025.
Following his release from Belarusian detention, Ziankovich was brought to neighboring Lithuania by a team of US officials, including Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Chris Smith, the official told CNN. Smith has been involved in past releases of Americans from Belarus.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the news later on Wednesday, without naming Ziankovich.
“Thanks to @POTUS’s leadership, Belarus has released another wrongfully detained U.S. citizen. No president has done so much, so quickly, to keep Americans safe abroad,” Rubio posted on X.
According to Global Reach, an organization that advocated for his case, Ziankovich did not have access to State Department personnel until January 2025.
“I knew this day would come. It took 1,480 days, but he survived and is on his way home to me and to America,” his wife Alena Dzenisavets said. “I want to thank President Trump, Secretary Rubio, and Special Envoy Boehler and the SPEHA staff. I also want to express my appreciation to Rep. Morgan Luttrell and the nonprofits Global Reach and the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation for their help advocating for Youras.”
Ziankovich is not the first American to have been released from Belarus under the Trump administration.
Anastassia Nuhfer was released in January after being detained in December 2024. An unnamed American citizen, who was detained in September 2024, was released in mid-February. Two other political prisoners were also released at the time.
Smith claimed that the release “was a unilateral gesture by the Lukashenko authorities,” saying they are looking to improve ties with the US.
Lukashenko “didn’t get anything for this exchange,” Smith said. “They are looking to improve their ties with us, and they’re making smart choices by releasing these Americans and other political prisoners in order to open a political dialogue with our side.”
Under the first Trump administration, the US had sought diplomatic rapprochement with Minsk. Those efforts were put aside after Lukashenko self-proclaimed electoral victory and initiated a massive crackdown on protesters and civil society in August 2020, which Trump administration officials condemned at the time.
Lukashenko’s government continues to detain more than a thousand political prisoners, and the US has hit Belarus with a slew of sanctions in recent years for its support of Russia’s war against Ukraine and its crackdown on civil society.
The-CNN-Wire
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