The United States and Britain unveiled new sanctions against Belarus on August 9 to mark the fourth anniversary of the country's disputed presidential election that returned authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka to power.
The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on 19 people and 14 companies involved in supporting Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine by producing resources used by the military, shipping goods to Russia, evading sanctions, and generating revenue for Belarusian oligarchs in Lukashenka’s inner circle.
It also took aim at Lukashenka’s “luxury airliner,” a Boeing-767-300 owned by the Belarusian government that the Treasury Department said he uses “professionally and for his personal leisure.”
Paval Latushka, head of the People's Anti-Crisis Directorate, said the sanctions meant the plane is barred from maintenance by authorized Boeing service providers, and this will create problems if it tries to land at airports outside Belarus.
Bradley Smith, the Treasury Department’s acting undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement that the sanctions were in response to the regime's "blatantly corrupt, destabilizing, and anti-democratic acts -- along with its continued support for Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine."
The U.S. designations followed fresh sanctions announced earlier on August 9 by Britain against four individuals and three businesses "in response to human rights violations and ongoing facilitation of Russia's illegal invasion in Ukraine."
The Foreign Office noted that it issued the sanctions on the anniversary of "the deeply flawed 2020 presidential elections in Belarus." It also noted that the action was taken in coordination with international partners and took the total number of sanctions imposed by Britain against Belarus to more than 200.
All four people sanctioned by Britain are present or former commanding officers of Belarusian prisons. The businesses sanctioned are involved in the country's defense and military sector.
The European Union targeted Belarusian authorities involved in human rights abuses earlier this week, and Canada on August 9 also announced additional sanctions on the Lukashenka regime.
The U.S. Treasury Department said that since the 2020 election, Lukashenka’s actions “have eroded Belarusian civil society and enabled Lukashenka, his family, and his inner circle to enrich themselves at the expense of Belarus’s citizens and sovereignty.”
It said the regime continues to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by hosting Russian military bases and allowing Russian forces to use Belarus as a staging point for military operations, the department said.
Among the 14 entities designated by the U.S. is Laboratory of Additive Technologies, which the department said provides Russia with components for satellite communications systems and optical equipment.
Three other entities -- AlYurTekh, Diskoms, MOT, Grosver Grup, and Tochnaya Mekhanika -- were hit with sanctions for supporting what Washington said was a sanctions-evasion network supported by Peleng JSC, one of Russia’s most important industrial partners. Peleng was designated by for U.S. sanctions in December 2021.
Among the other entities are Aviakompania Rada and UE RubiStar, which the Treasury Department said are two private Belarusian cargo airline companies that have provided support to Russian defense activities, including transporting Wagner Group personnel to and from Africa.
The sanctions freeze any U.S.-based assets owned or controlled by the individuals and organizations. They also block financial transactions with those designated and prohibit the contribution of funds, goods, and services to them.
The U.S. State Department also took steps to impose visa restrictions on 19 regime officials and their affiliates for their involvement in undermining democracy in Belarus, the Treasury Department said.