Understanding the conflict one year on.

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When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, it used neighboring Belarus as a springboard for its brutal assault on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. In response, the United States and European Union imposed punitive financial sanctions on dozens of Belarusians, tightening the noose around the country’s war machine and choking off access to the international financial system.

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, it used neighboring Belarus as a springboard for its brutal assault on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. In response, the United States and European Union imposed punitive financial sanctions on dozens of Belarusians, tightening the noose around the country’s war machine and choking off access to the international financial system.

But with the second anniversary of the war looming, international efforts to isolate Belarus have had little effect. The country’s strongman president, Aleksandr Lukashenko, has moved only further into the orbit of Russian President Vladimir Putin, becoming one of his most dependable allies even as other leaders in the region have pulled away.

Financial sanctions have rarely forced an about-turn in a country’s foreign policy—at least not quickly. But the saga underscores the impenetrable challenge posed by Belarus, the increasingly troublesome but often overlooked dictatorship on NATO’s doorstep that no one quite knows what to do with.

After years of stagnation, the United States is now looking for an answer to that question with the appointment of a new special envoy for Belarus, filling a position that has remained vacant for more than a year. The State Department is set to announce the appointment of Chris Smith, who currently serves as the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for........

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