The Treasury Department renewed sanctions against Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko on Tuesday and expanded them to include members of his family over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Officials also targeted several senior Russian defense officials in the latest wave of American economic penalties.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the moves were prompted by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “premeditated, unjustified and unprovoked war against Ukraine.”
He also blasted Lukashenko’s “support and facilitation of the Russian Federation’s invasion.”
“The United States, with support from allies and partners, is taking action to promote accountability for the Russian and Belarusian governments’ human rights abuses and violations within and outside their borders,” Blinken said in a statement.
Belarus, a former Soviet republic and staunch ally of Moscow, allowed Russia to deploy combat forces along its border with Ukraine ahead of the Feb. 24 invasion.
Last week, Lukashenko ordered the Belarussian military to prevent any potential attempt by Ukraine or its Western allies to cut off Russian supply lines and “strike at Russians from the rear.”
Get the latest updates in the Russia-Ukraine conflict with The Post’s live coverage.
Tuesday’s sanctions freeze Lukashenko’s assets, block any transactions with American entities and bar him from the US. They also apply to his estranged wife, Galina, and his three sons, two of whom are adults.
Lukashenko was initially sanctioned by the US in 2006.
The Russians targeted Tuesday include Viktor Zolotov, director of the National Guard, which Blinken said “has cracked down on Russian citizens who have taken to the streets to protest their government’s brutal campaign in Ukraine.”
Two members of Russia’s infamous Federal Security Service, known as the FSB, were also sanctioned for their involvement in torture, while six others were hit with penalties for attacks on dissidents from Chechnya living in Europe, the State Department said.
With Post wires
