Effective sanctions could cut off resources to Łukašenka regime – opposition leader

March 1, BPN. Alaksandr Łukašenka’s regime is much more vulnerable than it may seem, Belarusian opposition leader Sviatłana Cichanoŭskaja said on February 28 at an event at the Brussels-based Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS).

The Belarusian regime is like a chair with three legs held together by terror, money, and Kremlin’s support, she said, noting that it may collapse if just one of these is removed.

Sanctions alone are not enough, but they can deprive Łukašenka of resources, weaken Russia, and help free Belarusian political prisoners, Cichanoŭskaja said.

At the same time, sanctions will have no effect without enforcement mechanisms because the regime can bypass them, she stressed.

Over the past few years, democratic countries have imposed sanctions on Belarus over human rights abuses, the forced landing of the Ryanair flight in Minsk, the artificially engineered migrant crisis and the country’s complicity in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.