Hungary Veto Blocked EU From Imposing New Russia Sanctions Over Ukraine: Kaja Kallas

Last Updated:February 23, 2026, 23:30 IST

Hungary blocked the EU's Russia sanctions, delaying Ukraine aid. Kaja Kallas pledged ongoing efforts, including Schengen visa bans for Russians.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief on Monday said the bloc could not agree to imposing a new package on Russia, after Hungary vetoed the move.

The 27-nation bloc had been working to impose a new package of economic punishment on Moscow as the Ukraine-Russia war entered the fourth year.

“This is a setback and message we didn’t want to send today, but the work continues," AFP quoted top diplomat Kaja Kallas saying after a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, one of the friendly EU leader of Kremlin, has been stalling the sanctions and a 90-billion-euro EU loan to Ukraine until Kyiv re-opens a key oil pipeline.

Also Read: Will Block EU’s New Sanctions Against Russia Unless Ukraine Re-Opens Key Oil Pipeline: Hungary

Meanwhile, Ukraine said the Druzhba pipeline, which crosses its territory to deliver Russian oil to Slovakia and Hungary, was damaged January 27 by Russian strikes.

“The Hungarian government is once again blackmailing Ukraine," Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said. “This has been met with widespread disapproval and arguments urging Hungary to step back."

So far, the Eu has imposed 19 rounds of sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

According to AFP, Brussels has proposed banning shipping services for Russian crude oil as part of the latest sanctions in a bid to curb Moscow’s revenues further.

After the latest move to impose sanctions failed, AFP quoted Kallas saying that she was nonetheless limiting the size of Moscow’s diplomatic mission to the bloc to 40 personnel. “We will not tolerate abuse of diplomatic power," she said.

She further said she was working on proposals to potentially deny Schengen visas to “hundreds of thousands" of Russians who have fought in Ukraine.

“We do not want war criminals and saboteurs to roam our streets," she said.

News world Hungary Veto Blocked EU From Imposing New Russia Sanctions Over Ukraine: Kaja Kallas

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