Brussels: The European Union failed to pass new sanctions on Russia at a meeting on Monday after surprise objections from Hungary, the bloc’s top diplomat said.
“Unfortunately, we did not reach an agreement on the 20th sanctions package,” said Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief. “This is a setback and a message we did not want to send today.”
European diplomats had been scrambling to finalise new sanctions on Russia and a massive new loan for Kyiv ahead of the fourth anniversary of the war that has left an estimated 1.8 million Russian and Ukrainian soldiers dead, wounded or missing.
Hungary, widely seen as the EU’s most pro-Russian member, threatened over the weekend to block both the sanctions and the loan intended to support Kyiv’s military and economic needs for the next two years. Budapest said it would not back the measures until Russian oil deliveries resume.
Shipments to Hungary and Slovakia via the Druzhba pipeline have been halted since January 27 after what Ukrainian officials described as Russian drone attacks that damaged the route across Ukrainian territory.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban alleged that Ukraine is deliberately holding back Russian oil and accused Kyiv of trying to topple his government, calling the disruption a “Ukrainian oil blockade”. “No one has the right to put our energy security at risk,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in Brussels.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed support for Ukraine, urging European allies not to weaken their resolve.
