Ukraine reveals how many Belarusians who fought for Russia have been captured

As of July 2026, 22 Belarusian nationals who fought for Russia and were captured by Ukraine are being held at prisoner of war facilities in Ukrainian territory.

Source: a response by Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War to a request from Radio Liberty's Belarusian service

Details: The Coordination Headquarters also said that since 2022, seven Belarusians who also held Russian citizenship have been exchanged for Ukrainian nationals held in Russian captivity.

The Coordination Headquarters did not respond to the question of whether the Belarusian authorities have approached Ukraine regarding the release of Belarusian POWs and what format such release could take.

However, the response to Radio Liberty's request suggests that Kyiv has proposed an exchange to both Belarus and Russia involving Ina Kardash, a Belarusian national who was detained in January this year on suspicion of spying for the Belarusian State Security Committee.

The Coordination Headquarters stressed that Ukraine is willing to discuss any ways of securing the release of Ukrainian nationals who have been deprived of their personal freedom, including swapping Russian and Belarusian citizens who are accused of espionage in Ukraine or are already serving sentences for offences under the Criminal Code.

"Both the Russian and Belarusian authorities have been informed of this possibility and Ukraine's readiness to do this," said Bohdan Okhrimenko, Head of the Secretariat of the Coordination Headquarters. "But neither of them is in any hurry to retrieve their 'compromised' agents, as evidenced by the statistics of the [Ukrainian] state project Khochu k svoim ('I want to return to my people')."

Okhrimenko did not give an answer when asked about the total number of Ukrainian nationals in Belarusian prisons, some of whom have been transferred to Kyiv together with prisoners of war or Belarusian political prisoners.

"For the safety of everyone involved, we do not comment on this matter, as it could jeopardise the organisation of future similar efforts," he said.

Background:

• Radio Liberty had previously identified 17 Belarusian nationals who fought for Russia and were captured by Ukraine.
• Ina Kardash was detained on 21 January 2026 and charged with spying for Belarus.
• At the time of her detention, Kardash was working at the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War attached to Defence Intelligence of Ukraine. According to the investigation, she maintained contact with Belarusian intelligence through a Belarusian national who was knowingly conducting covert cooperation with the Belarusian security services on her behalf.
• The pre-trial investigation in her case has been completed. After the court verifies the charge sheet for compliance with Ukrainian law, it must proceed to hearing the case on its merits. Kardash is currently being held at a pre-trial detention centre in Kyiv.

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