Belarus bans Western imports, airlines from EU and UK

By YURAS KARMANAU
The Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Belarus has announced retaliatory restrictions on airlines from the European Union and the U.K., as well as a ban on imports of Western goods from countries that introduced sanctions against the post-Soviet nation last week. The Belarus Foreign Ministry says the import ban comes in response to the “illegal external sanctions pressure aimed at undermining the sovereignty of Belarus and deterioration of the well-being of Belarusian citizens.” Belarus has not yet published the list of prohibited Western goods. Last week, the United States, EU, Britain and Canada slapped sanctions on dozens of Belarussian officials, groups and companies, with the EU targeting those accused of participating in a “hybrid attack” on the bloc using migrants as pawns.