European Parliament Calls for International Criminal Court to Issue Arrest Warrant for Alexander Lukashenko

The European Parliament has identified Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin, as involved in the war against Ukraine and has urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue an arrest warrant for him. Members of the European Parliament deem it necessary to impose sanctions on Belarus akin to those already in place against Russia.

This information is reported by the Ukrainian publication 'Obozrevatel' and is included in a relevant resolution adopted on September 13 during a plenary session in Strasbourg.

The document discusses Lukashenko's accountability for oppressing and persecuting the population in Belarus. Furthermore, the legislative body of the European Union asserts that this Belarusian political figure is recognized as an accomplice in Russian war crimes on Ukrainian territory.

The resolution lists and elaborates on numerous crimes committed by the Belarusian regime. It notes the regime’s anti-Ukrainian propaganda as sowing hatred and mentions its active participation in the conflict. Additionally, it states that Lukashenko's regime has permitted the use of Belarusian territory for aggression against Ukraine and has directly supplied Russian troops with ammunition and military equipment.

The document emphasizes, "Lukashenko's illegal regime is actively supporting and fully complicit in Russia's unjustified aggressive war and war crimes against Ukraine."

Members of the European Parliament expressed the need for sanctions against Belarus parallel to those imposed on Russia. Moreover, the European Parliament has called for the ICC to provide an international arrest warrant against Alexander Lukashenko. The parliamentarians believe that the European Council should expand the list of individuals from Belarus that EU sanctions will apply to.

Moreover, European lawmakers highlighted that the vast majority of Belarusians oppose their country's involvement in the aggression against Ukraine. They reminded that some Belarusian citizens have chosen to fight against the Russian aggressor within the ranks of the Ukrainian army, particularly in the Kastus Kalinowski Battalion.