BELARUSIAN leaders have been hit with sanctions by the UK, Liz Truss has announced.

Four senior defence officials and two military enterprises have been sanctioned with immediate effect, the Foreign Office confirmed this evening. 

Those penalised include the Belarus Chief of the General Staff and First Deputy Minister of Defence, Major General Victor Gulevich; Major General Andrei Burdyko, Deputy Minister of Defence for Logistics and Chief of Logistics of the Belarusian Armed Forces; Deputy Minister of Defence for Armament and Chief of Armament of the Belarusian Armed Forces, Major General Sergei Simonenko; and Deputy Minister of Defence, Major General Andrey Zhuk.

State enterprises JSC 558 Aircraft Repair Plant and JSC Integral, a military semi-conductor manufacturer, have also been sanctioned, the Foreign Office said.

JSC 558 provides maintenance and servicing to military aircraft at Baranovichi air base, from which Russian aircraft operated as part of the invasion.

The move means the named individuals will not be able to travel to the UK and any UK-based assets will be frozen.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: “We are inflicting economic pain on Putin and those closest to him. We will not rest until Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is restored.

“The Lukashenko regime actively aids and abets Russia’s illegal invasion and will be made to feel the economic consequences for its support for Putin.

“There will be nowhere to hide. Nothing - and no one - is off the table.”