Lithuanian, Ukrainian leaders pressing for tighter sanctions against Belarus, Russia

January 11, Pozirk. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky agreed “to increase the isolation of the aggressor Russia and its accomplice Belarus,” their joint statement reads.

At the January 10 meeting in Vilnius, both leaders pledged to intensify international cooperation, tighten restrictions against Russia and Belarus and prevent sanctions evasion.

“Russia and its leadership must be held fully accountable for waging a war of aggression against Ukraine and for other most serious crimes under international law,” the statement stressed.

Nausėda and Zelensky called for investigations into war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Ukraine and promised to support the ongoing inquiry by the International Criminal Court.

“The Special International Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine must have a wide international legitimacy and be able to reach and prosecute Russia’s and Belarus’ highest political and military leadership,” they noted.

Lithuania and Ukraine agreed to work together with their partners to return all displaced Ukrainian children home, describing their transfers as an “extremely serious international crime” and condemning Belarus’ involvement.

In February 2022, Russia started a full-scale war against Ukraine in which the Belarusian authorities supported the Kremlin.

At least 2,442 children aged between six and 17 were taken from Ukraine to Belarus since the start of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine in February 2022, researchers from the Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) said in November.

In March, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his children’s rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, over alleged deportations of children from the occupied territories of Ukraine. The Belarusian opposition is seeking a similar warrant for Łukašenka on the same grounds.

On December 1, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies suspended the Belarusian Red Cross as a member for failing to dismiss its secretary general, Dźmitryj Šaŭcoŭ, over allegations of involvement in the transfers.