UK, Canada Sanction Lukashenko, 7 Other Belarusian Officials

Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko votes at a polling station during the presidential election in Minsk on Aug. 9, 2020. Sergei Gapon/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

The UK and Canada on Tuesday “sent a clear message” by imposing coordinated sanctions on Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, his son, and six senior figures in the Belarusian government, the UK government said.

The sanctions were the first to be implemented by major Western powers over the crisis in Belarus, a close Russian ally.