Ukraine Says Belarus Has Signaled Interest In Exchange For Espionage Suspect Inna Kardash

Belarus has signaled that it wants Inna Kardash, a former journalist in Ukrainian media who is under investigation in Ukraine on suspicion of espionage, included in an exchange, according to a Ukrinform interview with Bohdan Okhrimenko. Okhrimenko, head of the Secretariat of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, said the Belarusian side had sent only a signal and that no practical proposal had emerged beyond conversations.

The Details

Okhrimenko described the contact as preliminary, not as an agreed exchange track with confirmed terms. "There was such a signal, but so far there has been nothing beyond conversations," he said in the Ukrinform interview, according to coverage also cited by Kyiv Post and Ukrainska Pravda.

Ukraine is open to practical proposals, Okhrimenko said, while framing the issue around Ukrainians jailed abroad. "We are open to proposals. We are not interested in keeping foreign criminals here and spending budget funds on them while our illegally convicted citizens are kept behind bars in inhumane conditions," he told Ukrinform.

Kardash is under investigation in Ukraine on suspicion of espionage, according to Ukrinform, Kyiv Post and Ukrainska Pravda. Ukrainian officials allege that she worked for Belarusian intelligence and used journalism as operational cover, but the briefed record does not show that those allegations have been adjudicated in court.

Ukrainian officials say the Security Service of Ukraine and Ukraine's military intelligence agency, HUR, ran a counterintelligence operation involving Kardash, according to Ukrinform and Kyiv Post. Officials said she was given a fake workplace tied to the Coordination Headquarters and supplied with non-genuine materials before being detained.

Okhrimenko described that operation in the Ukrinform interview. "She thought she was working at the Coordination Headquarters. A fake workplace was set up for her," he said, according to Ukrinform and Kyiv Post.

Ukrainska Pravda reported in January that Kardash, 35, was served with a notice of suspicion for espionage and remanded in custody after a months-long special operation. According to Ukrainian investigators cited by Ukrainska Pravda and Kyiv Post, Kardash had worked for Belarus's KGB since 2015, was sent for agent work in Ukraine in 2020 and used journalism as cover.

The available record does not confirm an exchange agreement. LIGA.net reported that during a February 16 court hearing, a prosecutor said measures were being taken to exchange Kardash with the Belarusian side, but the same briefed record notes there were no other official reports confirming a deal.

Context

The latest comments from Okhrimenko narrow the state of the exchange issue to a Belarusian signal and continuing conversations. The research brief flags the February court comment and the May 4 Ukrinform interview together, noting that they are not necessarily contradictory but show that any effort remains preliminary and lacks confirmed terms.

Kardash's detention became public on January 27, 2026, after Ukrainian intelligence said it had exposed a Belarusian spy operating under journalistic cover, according to Ukrainska Pravda. That description remains an allegation by Ukrainian officials in the sourced record, and the draft record does not include an independent court finding on the espionage claim.

Ukraine and Belarus have previously exchanged civilians and detainees, including releases reported by LIGA.net from late 2025. Okhrimenko also said some Ukrainians are still imprisoned in Belarus and that communication with the Belarusian side has continued, according to Ukrinform.

That background is central to Ukraine's stated position. Okhrimenko told Ukrinform that Ukraine does not want to keep foreign offenders in custody while Ukrainians remain jailed in harsh conditions abroad, but he also said there had been no practical proposals beyond conversations in the Kardash matter.

What's Next

The immediate next step, based on the sourced record, would be a practical proposal from the Belarusian side or another official update from Ukraine. Okhrimenko's May 4 comments to Ukrinform indicate that Ukraine is open to proposals, but they do not identify terms, timing or possible counterparts for any exchange.

Any reporting on Kardash's status will also depend on the Ukrainian legal process and official statements from the agencies involved. Ukrainska Pravda reported that she was served with a notice of suspicion and remanded in custody in January, while LIGA.net later cited a prosecutor saying measures were being taken to exchange her with Belarus.

For now, the documented position is narrower than a deal. Belarus has signaled interest in Kardash's inclusion in an exchange, Ukraine has said it is open to practical proposals, and Ukrainian officials continue to present the espionage case as an allegation tied to their counterintelligence operation.