Cabinet of Ministers green-lights sanctions against Belarus

In June, the European Parliament passed a resolution calling on the European Union to impose harsh sanctions on Belarus for forcible landing of a Ryanair plane in Minsk and detaining opposition journalist Roman Protasevich. The United States also imposed sanctions on a number of government agencies and officials in Belarus.

Today, the government of Ukraine agreed on joining the sanctions. The Cabinet of Ministers will submit proposals to the National Security and Defense Council within a month.

Ukraine is preparing sanctions taking into account the decisions of the EU Council of October 2 and November 6, 2020. These decisions deal with the introduction of restrictive measures against individuals involved in rigging the last year’s presidential election in Belarus, as well as those involved in violating the Declaration of Human Rights, intimidation, repression, violent suppression of peaceful protests and torture.

According to the government, sanctions will be introduced ‘to protect the national interests of Ukraine’.

Sanctions are planned to be introduced for a period of three years. They may include a ban on entry in Ukraine and a ban on the possession of property and other assets in Ukraine.

The list of persons who may be subject to the sanctions is not published yet.