WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Monday released the following statement on the slate of new U.S. sanctions announced against the Lukashenka regime in Belarus:

“A year ago, the people of Belarus turned out in the streets demanding a better future—only to be met with brutal oppression by a Lukashenka regime desperately clinging to power. I’m glad to see the United States coordinate with allies on a slate of new sanctions against Lukashenka’s patronage network,” said Murphy. “We should simultaneously be investing dramatically more resources into pro-democracy, free media and counter-propaganda efforts in places like Ukraine and Belarus. We can start by doubling the funding for the Global Engagement Center, and I’m working through the Appropriations Committee to make sure these important funds are available.”

In May, Murphy along with U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) traveled to Lithuania and Ukraine to reaffirm U.S. commitment to regional partners and strengthen democratic reforms. In Lithuania, Murphy, Shaheen and Portman met with Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya in Vilnius to discuss the Lukashenka regime’s increasing human rights abuses against political opposition, including the recent hijacking of a civilian airliner to unlawfully arrest and detain journalist Raman Pratasevich.

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