Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has commented on the inclusion of the Mazyr Oil Refinery in the latest sanctions lists, saying the enterprise has become an example of the economic consequences of the Belarusian regime’s decisions.
She recalled that before 2022, Ukraine had been the refinery’s largest and most profitable export market.
“The Mazyr Oil Refinery is a very clear and painful example of how Lukashenka’s mistakes are destroying our economy and the well-being of Belarusians.
Before 2022, Ukraine was the plant’s main and most profitable market. Belarusian gasoline and diesel accounted for up to 50% of the Ukrainian market. But Belarus’s involvement in the war put an end to that market. And the sale of fuel to Russia, which then ends up being used by the Russian army, also made the Mazyr refinery a target for military strikes.
We can also recall the interview with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in which he spoke about how Lukashenka proposed striking the refinery,” the Belarusian opposition leader said.
“The inclusion of the Mazyr Oil Refinery in the European Union’s 21st package of sanctions is a direct result of the regime’s actions. The enterprise will no longer be able to purchase European equipment or use licensed software. Its financial results have been kept secret for several years, but we understand that more than 5,000 employees will feel the consequences of the regime’s mistakes.
The most tragic part of all this is that ordinary Belarusians always pay the price for the regime’s decisions. Today it is lost factories and markets; tomorrow it will be rising prices, meagre wages and a complete lack of prospects,” she said.
Tsikhanouskaya’s statement came after the Official Journal of the European Union published the legal acts approving the 21st package of sanctions against Russia and Belarus. The sanctions list includes OJSC Mazyr Oil Refinery. Previously, only one Belarusian oil refinery — Naftan — had been subject to EU sanctions.
