Deputy Envoy Coale: 14 Prisoners Freed in Belarus Thanks to Trump

Special Envoy to Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg's visit to Belarus Saturday for talks with President Alexander Lukashenko secured the release of 14 political prisoners from jails in the country, according to Kellogg's deputy, John Coale.

Cole posted a video on X, in which he said that President Donald Trump's "strong leadership led to the release of 14 prisoners from Belarus today."

Speaking from the U.S. Embassy in Lithuania, he also thanked the Lithuanian government for its cooperation and assistance and said, "They remain a true friend and ally."

In the video, Coale said Trump and several others in the administration "encouraged this trip."

"The United States is strong so we can get these kinds of things done," he said.

He pointed out the release in April of Youras Ziankovich, an American citizen who had been detained in Moscow and held on allegations of plotting a coup.

"This time, we went back and got 14 people from different countries who are now free," he added. "The moment I remember is when the van pulled up … I opened the door, and they all had their heads down, like this, and they didn't know what was going on. I said, 'You're free, you're free.'"

He added that both he and the freed prisoners want to thank Trump "for his leadership and encouragement for what we're doing around the world to make people free and improve lives."

https://www.newsmax.com/politics/john-coale-keith-kellogg-belarus/2025/06/21/id/1215897/