Belarus

Belarus frees 25 more prisoners in return for easing of US sanctions

Coale told Reuters on Wednesday he expects to visit the country again around one month from now, hoping to secure the release of hundreds more prisoners.

|ByREUTERS
FILE PHOTO: Released political prisoners arrive in Vilnius after a prisoner release from Belarus on March 19, 2026. Belarus freed 250 political prisoners on March 19, 2026 following negotiations with the United States.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attend a meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State of Russia and Belarus, in Moscow, Russia February 26, 2026.

Russia pumps up pressure on Belarus to open new front in Ukraine war, eyes anti-NATO ops. - WSJ

Sources told the WSJ that if Belarus were used for a Russian attack, it could be aimed at testing NATO defenses or more attempts at undermining support for Ukraine.

|ByCORINNE BAUM, REUTERS
Belarusian President and presidential candidate Alexander Lukashenko meets with the media after voting in Belarus' presidential election in the capital Minsk on January 26, 2025.

Israel rebukes Belarus’s Lukashenko for ‘Gaza is a holocaust’ comments, dicussion of ‘Jewish lobby’

Israel has condemned Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko after he compared the Holocaust to the Gaza war, calling his remarks “deeply disturbing” and unacceptable.

|ByMATHILDA HELLER
A serviceman takes part in the "Zapad-2025" (West-2025) joint Russian-Belarusian military drills at a training ground near the town of Borisov, east of the capital Minsk, on September 15, 2025.

Belarus holds nuclear weapons exercises, says drills are not 'aimed at other states'

Belarus said the exercise would test the military's readiness to deploy nuclear weapons in different areas of the country.

|ByREUTERS

Belarus court sentences Nobel Peace Prize winner to 10 years in prison -TASS

Byalyatski is a pro-democracy activist and founder of the Viasna human rights group which provided aid to Belarusian protesters in 2020.

MARCH 3, 2023ByREUTERS
Human rights activist Ales Byalyatski, founder of the organisation Viasna (Belarus), receives the 2020 Right Livelihood Award at the digital award ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden December 3, 2020.

Russian military aircraft damaged by Belarusian anti-gov't drone strike

Front and central parts of the aircraft as well as the radar antenna were damaged as a result of two explosions in the attack at the Machulishchy air base near Minsk

FEBRUARY 27, 2023ByREUTERS
A view shows the wreckage, which Ukrainian military officials said is the remains of a Russian Air Force assault aircraft, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in a field outside the town of Volnovakha in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, in this handout picture released March 4, 2022.

Lukashenko says he held long conversation with Putin on anniversary of war

Belarusian President Lukashenko is a close ally of Russia and has allowed Russian forces to attack Ukraine from Belarusian borders.

FEBRUARY 25, 2023ByREUTERS
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attends a meeting with Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission Mikhail Myasnikovich in Minsk, Belarus November 30, 2020.

Aliyah from Russia still high: More than 5,000 immigrants in January

The number of immigrants from Russia isn't coming down - in fact, this January saw the second most immigrants in a month since the war broke out.

FEBRUARY 21, 2023ByZVIKA KLEIN
New immigrants from USA and Canada arrive on a special " Aliyah Flight 2016" on behalf of Nefesh B'Nefesh organization, at Ben Gurion airport in central Israel on August 17, 2016,

Jewish Agency lowers profile in Russia, less activity in FSU countries - exclusive

Apart from political considerations, steep budget cuts by the Aliyah Ministry have led to a marked decrease in the Agency's activity.

FEBRUARY 21, 2023ByZVIKA KLEIN
Andrei Grishayev, a lawyer of the Russian branch of the Jewish Agency for Israel, speaks with journalists after a hearing outside a court building in Moscow, Russia, February 20, 2023.

Jewish Agency tells Belarus staff to stop promoting aliyah, retracts

It wasn't specified in any of the letters why the Jewish Agency has asked to cancel or freeze the activities that were meant to promote aliyah from Belarus.

JANUARY 29, 2023ByZVIKA KLEIN
The flag of Belarus mixed with the flag of Israel (Illustrative).

US sanctions on Iran cause turmoil in Iraq

To prevent US dollars from reaching Russia and Iran, the Federal Reserve will strictly regulate dollar sales in Iraq, leading to a volatile dinar.

JANUARY 20, 2023ByHUDHAIFA EBRAHIM/THE MEDIA LINE
Missiles of the kind used during Iran's retaliatory strike on the U.S Ayn al-Asad military base in 2020 are seen on display at Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla in Tehran, Iran January 7, 2022.

Russia's new deputy commander in Ukraine war inspects troops in Belarus

Russian deputy commander meets with troops in Belarus, sparking new concerns for Ukraine.

JANUARY 12, 2023ByREUTERS
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a news conference in Minsk, Belarus December 19, 2022.

Belarus detains former presidential candidate

Andrei Dmitriev, 41, an activist who leads an anti-Lukashenko social movement was detained in the capital Minsk on Wednesday, according to a message posted on his Facebook page.

JANUARY 12, 2023ByREUTERS
Presidential candidate Andrey Dmitriev addresses the media in front of the parliament building in Minsk, Belarus August 4, 2020.

Belarus puts Nobel Prize-winning rights defender on trial

Byalyatski, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Russian rights group Memorial and Ukraine's Center for Civil Liberties in October, was arrested in 2021 along with two co-workers.

JANUARY 5, 2023ByREUTERS
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Byalyatski, who co-founded the Viasna human rights group, sits inside a defendants' cage during a court hearing in Minsk, Belarus January 5, 2023.