White House confirms release of one American from Belarus

13/2/2025 6:12

Three detainees have been

released from detention in Belarus, including one American, the

White House said on Wednesday, as U.S. President Donald Trump

looks to forge a deal to end the war in Ukraine with Minsk's

ally, Russia.



"We can confirm the safe release of one American and two

individuals from Belarus," White House press secretary Karoline

Leavitt told reporters. Leavitt did not name the American who

had been released.



U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty announced that

one of those released by Belarus was one of their journalists,

Andrei Kuznechyk, with the network's Belarus service, who was

arrested in November 2021.



"This is a joyous day for Andrei, his wife, Alesya, and

their two young children. After more than three years apart,

this family is together again thanks to President (Donald)

Trump," RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus said in a

statement.



Kuznechyk has been reunited with his family in Lithuania,

said Franak Viacorka, the chief political adviser to Belarus

opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.



Tsikhanouskaya in a post on X said activist Alena Maushuk

was also released and was in serious health condition, adding

that all three of those released were in Vilnius.



The State Department did not immediately respond to a

request for comment on the American who had been released. The

Russian and Belarusian embassies in Washington also did not

immediately respond to requests for comment.



The release comes after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio

said last month that Belarus had "unilaterally released an

innocent American", whom he named as Anastassia Nuhfer. He gave

no further details about the case, which had not previously been

made public.



A person familiar with efforts to bring home American

detainees held abroad said another American remains imprisoned

in Belarus. The source said Youras Ziankovich, a 47-year-old

naturalized American who lives in Texas, was arrested in April

2021 while having lunch in Moscow and had not been released on

Wednesday.



Ziankovich was hooded, handcuffed and driven to Belarus,

where he was tried in secret and sent to prison for allegedly

plotting a coup, the source said, adding that he was allowed his

first visit from Lithuania-based U.S. diplomats on January 5.



The release of detainees from Belarus comes after American

schoolteacher Marc Fogel was released by Russia after 3-1/2

years in prison.



Fogel, 63, was serving a 14-year sentence for drug smuggling

after being caught at a Moscow airport with a small amount of

marijuana. He was flown on Tuesday to Washington, where he

celebrated his release with Trump at the White House on Tuesday.