The European Union on Wednesday (March 2nd) added 22 senior Belarusian armed forces officers to its blacklist of those sanctioned for supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to a statement.
To discover
LIVE – War in Ukraine: Ukraine says Russia has “slowed down the pace of the offensive”
Read alsoJapan to adopt sanctions against the President of Belarus and the Russian central bank
"
In view of the gravity of the situation and the fact that Belarus is participating in an unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine by authorizing military aggression from its territory, the Council considers it appropriate to add twenty-two persons to the list of natural and legal persons, entities and bodies subject to restrictive measures
”, indicates the press release published with the list of names, their ranks and their functions in the Official Journal of the EU.
These "
targeted
" sanctions consist of a freezing of assets and a ban on travel and residence in the EU.
The EU adopted new sanctions against Belarus on Sunday by banning exports of the "
most important economic sectors
" of the Minsk regime, "
accomplice
" of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, announced the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.
The hydrocarbon, tobacco, cement and steel sectors are concerned, said the head of the European executive.
Read alsoBiden proclaims his support for Ukraine in his first State of the Union address
Belarus already under EU sanctions
Belarusian officials who "
assisted Russia
" in its offensive in Ukraine are also targeted by sanctions, she announced.
Belarus allowed Russia to use its territory for the invasion of Ukraine, including forces heading towards Kiev.
Belarus is already under EU sanctions for its crackdown on its opposition, the hijacking of a European plane in June 2021 to arrest a dissident and an influx of Middle Eastern migrants at EU borders from its territory that Minsk is accused of orchestrating last year.
The measures announced on Sunday are the sixth round of EU sanctions against the former Soviet republic, an ally of Vladimir Putin's regime.
They are already hitting 183 officials, including President Alexander Lukashenko, and 26 companies or entities with a freezing of their assets and a ban on entry into the EU.
After the hijacking of a Ryanair plane, the EU had already targeted economic sectors such as potash, restricted the sale to Belarus of sensitive technologies in the field of telecommunications, and prohibited European airspace to Belarusian companies.
