Belarus Should Face More Sanctions for Aiding Russia, US Panel Told
Western countries should impose additional sanctions on Belarus for supplying Russia’s war machine, helping Moscow evade sanctions and indoctrinating Ukrainian children abducted by Russia, three witnesses told the congressionally led U.S. Helsinki Commission Dec. 5.
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Existing sanctions on Belarus have increased production times for military equipment and reduced the profitability of defense manufacturers, testified Matvei Kupreichyk, public representative of Belpol, a group of former Belarusian law enforcement officers. “We should increase the sanctions pressure” on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Kupreichyk said.
Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania’s acting minister of foreign affairs, told the commission that Belarus is the “No. 1 country” helping Russia evade sanctions. “Therefore, it’s imperative that we align the sanctions … that are imposed on Russia with the ones that are imposed on Belarus,” he said.
A legal expert at the Ukraine-based Regional Center for Human Rights testified that sanctions dealing with crimes against children should be harmonized among countries to make it harder to evade them. “Maybe we need some unified database in order to do it [and] maybe some additional agreements,” Kateryna Rashevska said.
In August, the Treasury Department issued new sanctions against Belarus for supporting Russia's war in Ukraine (see 2408090014).