Zelenskyy announced sanctions against Lukashenko’s sons and his entourage
Ukraine will expand its sanctions policy against the self-proclaimed president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, his family, and his entourage.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this in an interview with the Belarusian independent media outlet Dzerkalo, according to Censor.NET.
"This is the first step."
Zelenskyy stated that Europe had long been appealing to him regarding sanctions against Lukashenko, but the Presidential Administration "had its own red lines." However, now they have finally decided to politically demonstrate Ukraine's attitude toward him getting involved in the war and helping dictator Putin.
"Sanctions against Lukashenko are the first step. We will develop this further and are currently working on the legal basis for continuing the sanctions policy. This will apply not only to Lukashenko, but also to his entourage, his sons, etc. And one more thing, as I said: we will monitor all the military aid he provides to Russia," he said.
Lukashenko helps Russia in the war
At the same time, according to Zelenskyy, Ukraine did not discuss the issue of Lukashenko with the US.
"We did not raise the issue of Lukashenko with the American side because we saw that the Americans were determined to find communication with him and achieve results through diplomatic channels. We will now join this track and discuss with the Americans that this cannot be the case. That he supports the Russian regime – not only does he support Russia's geopolitics, but he also supports the war and helps kill civilians," he explained.
- According to Zelenskyy, Ukraine has evidence that Lukashenko's regime is helping Russia wage war against Ukraine.
"We have evidence of this. All of this is on maps, videos, everything is recorded – how "shahids" entered from Belarusian territory thanks to repeaters. And after that, there were strikes against us and civilian casualties. For us, this is a crime. And now we will deal with the legal aspects of these crimes," said the president.
When asked whether Ukraine could open a criminal case against Lukashenko for aiding the Russian army, Zelenskyy replied that "this is a matter for other agencies, and all relevant authorities will also look into this issue."
