February 7, Pozirk. The European Union plans to include “few dozen Belarusian and Russian military officers” in the 13th package of sanctions, EUobserver reports, citing its diplomatic sources.
The new sanctions package will coincide with the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
Restrictions are also reportedly planned against Russian nationals involved in the abductions of Ukrainian children.
On February 6, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen assured MEPs that EU sanctions had already “weakened” Russia.
Belarusian opposition has repeatedly urged its Western partners to synchronize sanctions against Minsk and Moscow. The move would prevent sanctions evasion, its leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja told Pozirk in late January.
Belarusian potash fertilizers cannot be excluded from the sanctions packages as they make up the main source of funding for Alaksandar Łukašenka and his officials, she stressed.
Over the past two years, the EU has not applied any serious sanctions against Minsk, the politician noted. Dictators perceive indecision in the West as a weakness and are testing how far they can go, Cichanoŭskaja noted.
In April 2023, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe urged the international community to help bring Łukašenka to justice for the illegal transfers of Ukrainian children.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe classified the transfers of children as a war crime.
