Lukashenko pardons 31 Ukrainians amid U.S. peace efforts

According to Ukrinform, Natalya Eismont, Press Secretary to Lukashenko, stated this to journalists, as reported by BelTA.

According to the press secretary, the pardon of the Ukrainian nationals took place “in furtherance of the agreements reached” between Lukashenko and U.S. President Donald Trump, at the request of the Ukrainian side, “a gesture of goodwill guided by humanitarian principles, aims to create the conditions for resolving the armed conflict in the neighboring state.”

"They are being handed over to the Ukrainian side right now, at this moment,”  Eismont said.

She noted that the pardoned Ukrainians had committed criminal offences on the territory of Belarus.

As reported by Ukrinform, earlier U.S. media outlets stated that the Trump administration had been holding secret consultations with the Russians to develop a new plan to end the war in Ukraine. The proposals encompass 28 points and are divided into four broad categories: peace in Ukraine, security guarantees, security in Europe, and the future of U.S. relations with Russia and Ukraine.