The US Department of Transportation has finally banned the sale of air tickets from the US to Belarus amid the incident with the Ryanair plane.

It is prohibited to sell all passenger air tickets from the US to Belarus, including with a transfer. Exceptions can be made in the interests of US national security.

This measure was announced on July 2, since then no objections from the US administration have been received, and it comes into force.

The Ryanair plane traveling from Athens to Vilnius on May 23 urgently landed at the Minsk airport over mining reports, which was not later confirmed. 

Roman Protasevich, the founder of the opposition Nexta Telegram channel, recognized as an extremist in Belarus, was on board. He was detained while checking documents on previously initiated criminal cases against him under several articles, including the article on organizing mass riots. The ex-editor-in-chief could face up to 15 years in prison.