On Tuesday, the United Kingdom (UK) announced its first set of sanctions against Belarus, primarily targeting military individuals and organisations, for supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The sanctioned officials and enterprises have been barred from travelling to the UK and accessing their UK-based assets.
Among those targeted is Chief of General Staff Major General Victor Gulevich, who is also the country’s First Deputy Minister of Defence. According to a release by the British Foreign Office, Gulevich was responsible for leading the actions of Belarusian security forces in supporting and enabling Russia’s military operation in Ukraine. “He has directed joint military exercises with Russia, and consented to the deployment of Russian troops along the border of Belarus with Ukraine, which has directly contributed to Russia’s ability to attack Ukraine, including from positions in Belarus,” the statement said.
Three other deputy defence ministers were also targeted by Tuesday’s sanctions. Additionally, JSC Integral (a semiconductor manufacturer for the Belarusian military) and JSC 558 (which provides maintenance services at the Baranovichi airbase), both military organisations that aided Russian aircraft during the invasion, were also hit with sanctions.
While making the announcement, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss accused Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s administration of “actively aiding and abetting” Russia’s illegal activities in Ukraine. She asserted that the sanctions are imposed to inflict “economic pain on [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and those closest to him.”
The Lukashenko regime actively aids and abets Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and will be made to feel the economic consequences for its support for Putin.
— Liz Truss (@trussliz) March 1, 2022
We've launched a first tranche of sanctions against Belarusian individuals and organisations.https://t.co/wjDf4zdUyF
“There will be nowhere to hide. Nothing – and no one – is off the table,” she vowed, possibly hinting that Lukashenko and his top brass could be next. She also said that the UK would continue to target Russia and its allies “until Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is restored.”
Located on Russia’s west and the northwest of Ukraine, Belarus has been accused of actively supporting Moscow’s military operations in Ukraine. Not only has Belarus been hosting Russian forces who have been launching attacks into Ukraine, but Belarusian soldiers have also reportedly joined the invasion.
Furthermore, on Sunday, Belarus voted to renounce its non-nuclear status, paving the way for Russia to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus for the first time since it gave them up following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The amendments also allowed Belarus to permit Russian troops to remain on its territory indefinitely. In addition, it granted immunity to former officials accused of committing crimes during their terms in office.
The UK has already sanctioned over 100 individuals and organisations over their role in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Apart from sanctioning Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the UK also plans to sanction oligarchs, “focussing on their houses, their yachts, and every aspect of their lives.” British authorities have also initiated investigations against Russian state-owned media house RT (RussiaToday) and restricted Russian “flagged, registered, owned, controlled, chartered or operated vessels” from accessing ports in the country.
Likewise, on Monday, Truss announced asset freezes on three more Russian banks, including VEB, Russia’s national development bank. She stressed that the British government will be awarded new powers to confront the Russian financial sector and “prevent Russian banks from clearing payments in sterling.”