EU diplomats scramble to overcome Hungary's threat to derail new sanctions on Russia

Hungary is blocking the EU’s latest sanctions plan against Russia, and it is also holding up new aid for Ukraine four years after Russia invaded

BRUSSELS -- European Union diplomats scrambled Monday to overcome Hungary’s veto threats as they seek to finalize new sanctions on Russia and a massive new loan for Ukraine.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc's 27 foreign ministers gathering in Brussels would likely not agree on the 20th package of sanctions targeting Russia’s shadow fleet and energy revenues, which it hoped to pass ahead of the fourth anniversary Tuesday of Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine — a war that has left perhaps 1.8 million dead, wounded or missing.

“I think there is not going to be progress regarding this today,” Kallas said before a regular meeting of the EU’s foreign ministers in Brussels where discussion of the 20th sanctions package was planned.

The meeting came after Hungary threatened to block the EU sanctions plans and to obstruct a 90 billion euro loan for Ukraine until Russian oil deliveries to Hungary resume.

Russian oil shipments to Hungary and Slovakia have been interrupted since Jan. 27 after what Ukrainian officials say were Russian drone attacks that damaged the Druzhba pipeline, which carries Russian crude across Ukrainian territory and into Central Europe. That has led to rising tensions between Budapest and Kyiv.