Upon entering office, President-elect Joe Biden should immediately introduce sanctions against two Vladimir Putin cronies: Alexander Lukashenko and Alexander Bortnikov. For whatever reason, President Trump has avoided sanctioning these obvious American adversaries.

Starting his presidency with these sanctions, Biden would send a clear message that he’ll stand in defense of democracy and against assassinations of peaceful political activists. Those concerns speak to good governance, the advancement of the rule of law, and the undermining of adversaries who use coercion to trammel American friends.