Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on April 30, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 24, 2026
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The US secured the release of Minsk-born American Youras Ziankovich from Belarus, highlighting diplomatic efforts involving Lithuania.
By Steve Holland
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has secured the release from Belarus of an American who was arrested three years ago in Moscow, a senior U.S. official told Reuters on Wednesday.
Youras Ziankovich, a 47-year-old naturalized American who was born in Minsk and lives in Texas, was released across the border of Belarus into Lithuania and is on his way home, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
In April 2021, Ziankovich was picked up while having lunch in Moscow. He was hooded, handcuffed and driven to Belarus, where he was tried in secret by a Minsk court and sent to prison for allegedly plotting a coup, sources have told Reuters in the past.
The U.S. official said the Lithuanian government and the U.S. embassy in Lithuania played a role in securing the release of Ziankovich, who the U.S. considered wrongfully detained.
U.S. President Donald Trump has made a concerted effort to bring back Americans held around the world, tasking U.S. special envoy Adam Boehler with much of the work. The official said Ziankovich was the 47th detainee released by a variety of countries around the world since Trump took office on January 20.
The official said the release was a positive sign from the government of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In addition, the official said an American who had been held in Kuwait was returning to the United States on Wednesday. Tony Holden was part of a group of 23 Americans detained in Kuwait and pardoned in March.
Holden was in Kuwait as a military contractor and was detained on minor drug-related charges.
(Reporting by Steve Holland in Washington; Editing by Nia Williams)
The main topic is the US securing the release of an American detained in Belarus.
Youras Ziankovich is a Minsk-born naturalized American detained in Belarus.
The release was secured through US and Lithuanian diplomatic efforts.
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