UK MoD accuses Belarus of 'persistently adhering' to Russia's position on war in Ukraine

In its latest intelligence update about the prevailing situation in Eastern Europe, the United Kingdom's Defence Ministry claimed that the Belarusian government continues to adhere to Russia's position on the war in Ukraine. Stating this, the ministry also referred to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's July 21 statement wherein he called on Ukraine to accept Russia's demands in order to bring the ongoing war to an end. 

"His (Lukashenko's) regime has become ever more authoritarian, with the expansion of the death penalty for ‘preparing terrorist acts’. His increasing and baseless accusations of Western designs on Belarus and Ukraine likely indicate that he has become almost wholly dependent on Russia," the UK Defence Ministry noted. It further claimed that the Russian Armed Forces fired at least 20 missiles into the northern Ukrainian region on July 28, using Belarusian territory. "This follows Russia’s use of Belarusian territory to launch the main thrusts of its failed attempt to take Kyiv in February," the UK's intelligence report stated.  

UK government bans export of luxury goods to Belarus

Earlier in July, the UK government also made the decision to forbid the export of luxury goods, including British artwork and designer handbags, as well as oil refining equipment to Belarus. In addition, Britain also banned the export of advanced technology components such as the ones used in quantum computing to Belarus for supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The British government has also stated that it will outlaw the importation of iron and steel from Belarus. Notably, the fresh restrictions imposed on Belarus by the UK came in the new package of sanctions to block trade in “goods worth around 60 million pounds”

West continues to tighten sanctions against Russia and Belarus

It is worth mentioning here that the Western nations including the European Union (EU), the UK and the US have tightened sanctions against both Russia and Belarus as the conflict in Ukraine has continued to escalate for over five months now. In retaliation to the Western sanctions, the Belarusian government has also prohibited the sale of shares in the nation's companies by investors from "unfriendly states." According to media reports, the investors have been banned from investing in as many as 190 Belarusian companies. 

Image: AP