EU threatens Belarus with new severe sanctions in case of direct participation in Russia's war against Ukraine

This was stated by European Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi during the plenary session of the European Parliament dedicated to the consideration of the role of Belarus in Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine, Ukrinform reports.

“In addition to flagrant violations of human rights, which continue and even intensify, the Lukashenko regime has become complicit in Russia's war against Ukraine. The EU strongly condemned the involvement of Belarus in aggression against Ukraine, called on Belarus to refrain from such actions, and to fulfill its own international obligations, including compliance with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of (Nuclear Weapons, - Ed.),” Várhelyi, who presented the position of the European Commission to the deputies on behalf of the High Representative of the EU, emphasized.

He pointed out that Belarusian troops have not yet been involved in direct hostilities on the territory of Ukraine. At the same time, last Saturday, October 8, Minsk, without any grounds, accused Ukraine of preparing an attack against the territory of Belarus.  According to Várhelyi, such baseless accusations are aimed only at further escalation of the security situation in the entire region.

“Although the Belarusian troops are probably not taking a direct part in hostilities at this time, the recent missile strikes and drone attacks against the Ukrainian civilian population from the territory of Belarus are absolutely unacceptable,” the European Commissioner stressed.

Várhelyi noted that the majority of the population of Belarus opposes the country's active participation in this criminal and brutal war. Therefore, any involvement in this conflict will have catastrophic consequences for Belarus itself and for its sovereignty.

“We call on the Belarusian authorities to refrain from any further involvement of the country in these criminal actions. The EU will respond to the decision to further involve the country in the war with new and powerful restrictive measures. All those who participate in this illegal war of aggression are guilty of war crimes, will be brought to justice,” the representative of the European Commission emphasized.

• In mid-October, Putin and Lukashenko agreed on the creation of a "joint group" of troops on the territory of Belarus. 

• On October 18, the EU agreed on new sanctions against the Russian Federation and Belarus.