The World Bank has suspended all programs in Russia and Belarus.

The World Bank said it had stopped all programs in Russia and Belarus with immediate effect, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and “hostilities against the people of Ukraine.” In a statement, the multilateral development bank said it had not approved any new loans to or investments in Russia since 2014 when Russia annexed the Crimea region of Ukraine. The bank said it had not approved any new lending to Belarus since mid-2020 when the United States imposed sanctions on the country over the disputed presidential election, which the self-proclaimed leader of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, used to stay in power.