September 24, Pozirk. New Zealand has expanded its sanctions to Belarus’ BelOMO manufacturer of military purpose optical equipment and aircraft repair plant in Orša, Viciebsk region, its foreign ministry’s press office reported.
A part of New Zealand’s ongoing response to Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, the new sanctions cover five individuals and six companies from Belarus and Russia, it noted.
Sanctioned Belarusians include BelOMO CEO Alaksandar Maroz; former Belarusian Railways CEO Uładzimir Marozaŭ and Dźmitryj Šaŭcoŭ, secretary general of the Belarusian Red Cross suspected of involvement in forced transfers of Ukrainian children.
“The sanctioning of Belarusian actors represents a shared effort with our likeminded international partners to condemn and hold accountable those supporting Russia’s illegal actions,” New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters said.
“By joining with more than 35 other countries imposing sanctions on those supporting Russia’s aggression, we raise the costs involved for the Russian war machine,” the politician noted.
Over the past few years, democratic countries have imposed multiple restrictions on Belarus over allegations of human rights abuses, vote rigging in the 2020 presidential election, a brutal crackdown on protesters, the forced landing of a Ryanair flight, a migration crisis at the European Union border, as well as Minsk’s support of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
