What 26 May 2021 showed about pressure on Minsk

What did the West do after Belarus diverted a passenger plane? By 26 May 2021, the answer was already taking shape in two decisions made in the preceding days.

On 23 May 2021, NATO demanded an international investigation into Belarus's diversion of Ryanair Flight 4978. The demand put the incident on the agenda of the military alliance as well as of European capitals.

On 24 May 2021, the European Union went further. It banned all Belarusian airlines from using its airports and airspace in response to what it described as a hijacking. It also placed sanctions on officials believed to be involved in the operation. Together, the two steps combined a call for scrutiny with concrete restrictions on Belarusian aviation and on named individuals.

A wider pattern of pressure

The same days brought another example of sanctions being used against Russian-linked actors. On 21 May 2021, the US insurer CNA Financial revealed that it had been hit by a ransomware attack in March 2021 and had paid $40 million to a group named Phoenix. The attackers used malware called Phoenix Locker, a variant of Hades, which cybersecurity experts attributed to the Russian cybercrime syndicate Evil Corp. In December 2019, the US Treasury Department had announced sanctions on 17 individuals and six entities linked to Evil Corp, making it illegal for a US company to knowingly pay a ransom to the group.

The two stories are separate, but both show sanctions and legal designations serving as instruments of response, whether against officials accused of a hijacking or against a criminal syndicate.

A lighter note for Ukraine

Ukrainian news in the same period was of a different kind. On 22 May 2021, the band Go_A took fifth place at the 65th Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam, a result that drew attention to Ukraine for cultural reasons at a time when the region's security news was dominated by Belarus.