HELSINKI—Lithuania has declared a state of emergency due to an influx of illegal immigrants in the last few days from neighboring Belarus, as tensions between the European Union and Belarus escalate. Lithuania’s Interior Minister Agle Bilotaite said late Friday that the decision, proposed by the State Border Guard Service, was necessary not because of an…
Belarus’ Lukashenko Orders Closure of Border With Ukraine—BelTA
MOSCOW—Belarus’ leader Alexander Lukashenko ordered on Friday the full closure of Belarus’ border with neighboring Ukraine, citing security reasons, BelTA state news agency reported. Lukashenko told a gathering marking the country’s Independence Day that rebel groups that were planning to carry out a coup were uncovered in Belarus, BelTA reported. “A huge amount of weapons…
Belarus Oppositionists Cry Foul After ‘Embassies’ Suspended on Twitter
BERLIN—Twitter has suspended the accounts of a group of exile opposition groups that call themselves the “Belarusian People’s Embassies” after they were accused of identity theft by Belarusian authorities. The people’s embassy movement sprang up after last year’s presidential election, in which long-serving strongman Alexander Lukashenko claimed a resounding victory despite a widespread belief that…
EU Imposes First Broad Economic Sanctions on Belarus Over Ryanair Incident
BRUSSELS—The European Union imposed wide-ranging economic sanctions on Belarus for the first time on Thursday, targeting its main export industries and access to finance a month after it forced a Ryanair flight to land in Minsk. The measures include banning EU businesses from importing goods or doing business with Belarusian companies in sectors including banking,…
Belarus Regime ‘Frightened,’ Says Opponent
BRUSSELS—When authorities in Belarus diverted a Ryanair passenger jet to Minsk last month to arrest a dissident journalist who was aboard, their goal may have been to silence a troublesome government critic and send a message to others like him. Instead, believes opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, it was a panicked miscalculation by authoritarian President Alexander…
EU, US, UK, Canada Join Forces to Slap Sanctions on Belarus
BRUSSELS—The United States, the European Union, Britain, and Canada joined forces Monday to impose sanctions on several senior officials in Belarus over the forced diversion to Minsk of a passenger plane travelling between two EU countries last month. Asset freezes and travel bans were also imposed on a number of officials linked to the security…
Ryanair Flight Under Considerable Covert Pressure to Land in Belarus: Airline Boss
The pilot of the Ryanair passenger aircraft that was diverted to lank in Minsk, Belarus, was put under covert but “considerable pressure,” Michael O’Leary, the CEO of the Irish airline said on Tuesday. Ryanair Flight 4978 was on its way to Vilnius, Lithuania, from Athens, Greece, when it was alerted to a bomb threat and diverted…
EU Bans Belarus Airlines as Opposition Urges G7 Sanctions
BRUSSELS/WARSAW—Belarus carriers will be banned from flying over European Union territory or having access to its airports from Friday, the bloc said, as the country’s exiled opposition leader called for more joint Western sanctions. The EU decision is part of planned punitive measures against Belarus in response to Minsk scrambling a warplane to force the…
Detained Belarusian Dissident Says He Was Set up by an Associate
KYIV, Ukraine—A dissident journalist arrested when Belarus diverted his flight said in a video from prison that he was set up by an unidentified associate. The footage of Roman Protasevich was part of an hour-long documentary aired late Wednesday by the state-controlled ONT channel. In the film, the 26-year-old Protasevich is also shown saying that…
Belarus ‘Hijacking’ Set in Context of ‘More Assertive’ Russia, Says NATO Chief
Sanctions against Belarus for the “hijacking” of a passenger plane carrying a journalist who had been critical of the Lukashenko regime must be “fully implemented,” the head of NATO has said. Secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg met Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Downing Street on Wednesday and the pair discussed the future of the alliance ahead of…
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