Фото: Беларуськалий
The United Transitional Cabinet has commented on a decision by the Council of the European Union that supplemented the grounds for sanctions against Belaruskali. According to the updated decision, the sanctions justification now includes facts related to the illegal transfer of Ukrainian children from occupied territories of Ukraine to the Dubrava sanatorium owned by the company.
It is noted that the information for European partners was prepared by the National Anti-Crisis Management under the leadership of the deputy head of the United Transitional Cabinet, Pavel Latushka. This followed a request from representatives of the European External Action Service to strengthen the justification for sanctions against a number of sanctioned legal entities.
“At that time, the necessary information was provided to our European partners. In particular, the National Anti-Crisis Management reported that Ukrainian children from occupied territories of Ukraine were illegally transferred to the Dubrava sanatorium owned by Belaruskali, where they were subjected to ideological indoctrination. As a result, the justification for the EU decision on sanctions against Belaruskali was supplemented with these facts,” the United Transitional Cabinet said.
Earlier, the National Anti-Crisis Management sent two communications on this issue to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The update of the sanctions grounds came amid discussions about the possible lifting of sanctions on potash fertilisers and Belaruskali. However, the EU not only extended the restrictive measures but also strengthened their evidentiary basis, the authors note.
Belshina was also re-included in the sanctions list with an updated justification. Previously, the EU Court had lifted sanctions against the company after they were successfully challenged. The new justification documents tyre supplies to the Russian army and trade through intermediaries controlled by Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s entourage, including structures linked to his son Dzmitry Lukashenka. The work on preparing the updated grounds was carried out jointly with the Belarusian Investigative Centre, BelPol and Buro.
The EU Council also extended all sanctions against the Lukashenka regime for one year, until February 28, 2027. Decision No. 2026/426 was adopted on February 26, 2026.
Latushka said the EU decision confirms the consistent position of European partners.
“The decision of the EU Council to extend sanctions against the Lukashenka regime confirms the consistent position of our European partners: as long as repression continues in Belarus and support for external aggression does not stop, restrictive measures will remain in place and will be strengthened. Updating the justifications, including with regard to enterprises such as Belshina and facts related to Belaruskali, demonstrates that sanctions policy is becoming even more legally robust and is based on additional evidence. Cooperation between Belarusian democratic forces and European institutions strengthens international accountability for those involved and increases the likelihood of further legal consequences at the international level,” he said.
It should be recalled that despite supplies to Russia’s Ministry of Defence directly and to Russian companies producing military equipment, Belshina’s lawyers managed to have sanctions lifted by the EU Court in March 2024. One of the arguments taken into account by the court was that the extraction of profit by the Belarusian state from the company’s activities had not been proven.