The Council of the EU adopted additional grounds for extending sanctions against Belaruskali OJSC
As early as last year, representatives of the European External Action Service approached the National Anti-Crisis Management (NAM), requesting additional arguments to strengthen the grounds for sanctions against a number of legal entities subject to restrictive measures.
We provided this information to our European partners. In particular, NAM submitted information showing that Ukrainian children had been unlawfully transferred from the occupied territories of Ukraine to the Dubrava sanatorium, owned by Belaruskali, where they were subjected to ideological indoctrination. As a result, these facts were added to the grounds for the EU’s decision to impose sanctions against Belaruskali OJSC.
The actions of the Lukashenka regime in this matter are regarded as war crimes. NAM previously submitted two communications to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Amid discussions about the possible lifting of sanctions on potash fertilisers and Belaruskali OJSC, the EU has both extended the sanctions and strengthened the grounds for their application.
The grounds concerning other companies were also supplemented or revised. Belshina OJSC was included in the sanctions list again, with an updated statement of reasons. Previously, the Court of Justice of the European Union had annulled the sanctions against the company after representatives of Belshina OJSC challenged the previous sanctions decision in court. The grounds for imposing sanctions now reflect additional facts showing that Belshina supports the aggression by supplying tyres for use by the Russian army, conducts trade through intermediaries controlled by Dzmitry Lukashenka, and engages in other such activities.
We thank our colleagues from the Belarusian Investigative Center, BelPol and the Bureau, who also participated in this work. As Pavel Latushka, Deputy Head of the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus and Head of NAM, stated:
“The decision of the Council of the EU 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 cease, restrictive measures will remain in place and be strengthened. The updating of the grounds, including those concerning companies such as Belshina OJSC and facts related to Belaruskali OJSC, demonstrates that sanctions policy is becoming even more legally robust and is supported by additional evidence. Cooperation between Belarusian democratic forces and European institutions strengthens the international accountability of the individuals and organisations involved and increases the likelihood of further legal consequences at the international level.”
Background:
The additional grounds concerning individual companies, as well as revised information concerning a number of individuals subject to European sanctions, were reflected in EU Decision No 2026/426 of 26 February 2026, which introduced certain amendments to Decision No 765/2006 governing sanctions against the Lukashenka regime.
Through the same decision, the Council of the EU once again extended all sanctions against the Lukashenka regime for one year — until 28 February 2027. The dictator refuses to change his policies: repression within Belarus and aggression beyond its borders. The extension of restrictive measures is the consequence.
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