Live updates: Opposition urges more sanctions on Lukashenko

The exiled opposition leader of Belarus urged western democracies Thursday to slap tougher sanctions on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko over his backing of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

LONDON -- The exiled opposition leader of Belarus urged western democracies Thursday to slap tougher sanctions on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko over his backing of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"Lukashenko has full responsibility for this attack on Ukraine," Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said at an event at London's Chatham House thinktank. "I believe that it's time for democracy to show its teeth, and it's crucial to put diplomatic, economic and political pressure on the Belarus regime."

Tsikhanouskaya has said that Belarus' military is effectively under Russian control. She called for Lukashenko to be suspended from all international organizations, Belarus state banks to be cut from the international SWIFT payment network and for imports from state enterprises to be banned.

Many countries have already announced sanctions on the Belarus government, but Tsikhanouskaya said this is not enough. "Half measures don't work. They only make things worse," she said.