Canada has announced sanctions against nine Belarusian banks, including the National Bank of Belarus.

This is stated in a statement by the Canadian government .

The imposition of sanctions is justified by the fact that "the actions of the Republic of Belarus constitute a serious violation of international peace and security, which has led or may lead to a serious international crisis".

In addition to the National Bank, the sanctions list includes such banks as Belarusbank, Belagroprombank, BPS-Sberbank, Priorbank, Bank BelVEB, Belgazprombank, VTB-Bank, and Statusbank.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also spoke about the sanctions after meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Denys Shmyhal.

Canada is also imposing sanctions on nine organizations linked to the Belarusian financial sector in order to further pressure "Russia's accomplices in Belarus," Trudeau said.