The United Kingdom has announced the first wave of sanctions against high-ranking military officials in Belarus to join and facilitate Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The sanctions will cover Viktor Gulevich as the General Staff Chief of the Armed Forces in Belarus, three Deputy Ministers of Defense, and two military enterprises.
The European Union will likely apply the same sanctions to them.
The British Foreign Office describes Gulevich as the man responsible for the actions of the Belarusian armed forces, who asked Russia to invade Ukraine. "He organized joint training with Russia and agreed to land Russian troops along the Belarus border with Ukraine. It contributes to Russia's attack on Ukraine."
The United Kingdom already applied sanctions on 100 members of the Belarus government for political repression against protesters in Belarus in August 2020. "There are signs that the United States will destroy the Belarus economy as well as Russia," the newspaper said.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense reminds us that the Belarus troops are ready for combat near the Ukrainian border.