Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has welcomed the introduction by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of personal sanctions against Alyaksandr Lukashenka. Zelenskyy signed the relevant decree today.
“I welcome Ukraine’s decisive sanctions against the dictator Lukashenka for his direct role in Russia’s war.
He is an illegitimate usurper and a war criminal who turned our country into a military base for aggression.
A free Belarus will never threaten Ukraine or Europe,” she wrote on X.
A little later, Tsikhanouskaya’s Office distributed her expanded statement.
“This is a correct and timely decision by Ukraine. And I thank President Zelenskyy for his principled position. Lukashenka is not a legitimate leader: he illegally seized power and serves Russia’s interests rather than those of the Belarusian people. The Belarusian people have become hostages of two dictators.
The sanctions imposed by Ukraine are sanctions against the dictator personally. He is assisting Russia in a criminal war, producing weapons and, undoubtedly, must be held accountable for this under international law. This is also a clear message to those who surround Lukashenka: by helping him, you become accomplices to crimes. Impunity is what strengthens dictators. And today Ukraine has shown that there must be no impunity.
The war must be stopped, and peace and justice must be restored,” Tsikhanouskaya said.
It should be recalled that Ukraine pursued a fairly cautious policy toward Alyaksandr Lukashenka over the past several years. However, in January a full-fledged meeting between Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and Volodymyr Zelenskyy took place in Vilnius. After it, it was announced that a special envoy would be appointed in Ukraine to interact with the democratic forces of Belarus. Zelenskyy also invited Tsikhanouskaya to visit Kyiv.
