This is the 16507th most frequent Russian word.
санкционировали
"Sanctioned" or "authorized."
Here, 'санкционировало' is used to indicate official approval or authorization for an event.
Правительство санкционировало проведение конференции.
The government sanctioned the holding of the conference.
In this sentence, 'санкционированы' conveys that the actions were condoned or permitted.
Бессмысленные действия были санкционированы плохими советниками.
Meaningless actions were sanctioned by bad advisors.
'Санкционировали' here indicates that they officially approved the construction to begin.