The European Union has approved new sanctions on Belarus for assisting Russia in its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
France, the current holder of the EU's rotating presidency, said in a statement on March 2 that the sanctions are aimed at those individuals in Belarus who are playing a role in aiding the attacks on Ukraine, as well as "some economic sectors, and in particular timber, steel, and potassium."
The 27-nation bloc has already imposed a series of wide-ranging measures against Belarus over human rights abuses stemming from a brutal crackdown by the regime of authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka against dissent after a disputed presidential election in August 2020.
Lukashenka claimed victory, and a sixth consecutive term in office, after the vote, while the opposition says the process was rigged and that its candidate, Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, won the balloting.