Kremlin says it is grateful to Belarus for pardon of Russian woman

The Kremlin said on Thursday it was grateful to neighbouring Belarus for pardoning Sofia Sapega, a Russian citizen who was detained when Minsk forced down a civilian airliner in 2021. Sapega, 25, was arrested along with her then-boyfriend, exiled Belarus dissident journalist Roman Protasevich, when their Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius was forced to land in Minsk in May 2021.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko pardoned her on Wednesday, the Belta news agency reported.

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