The authoritarian regime in Belarus retaliated against U.S. sanctions on Wednesday by withdrawing its approval for the appointment of the U.S. ambassador and telling Washington to reduce its embassy staff. The administration of President Joe Biden imposed new sanctions on Belarus on Monday, the one-year anniversary of widespread protests in response to an election the opposition said was rigged. President Alexander Lukashenko ruthlessly squashed the protests with mass arrests and beatings by police. The U.S. sanctions have targeted 44 people and entities, including the nation’s giant potash producer, the National Olympic committee and 15 private companies tied to top regime figures. “These steps are a further consequence to the Belarusian authorities’ continued flagrant disregard for human rights and Belarus’s failure to comply with its obligations under international human rights law,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Monday. The spokesman for the Belarus Foreign Ministry called the U.S. …