{"id":24352,"date":"2026-02-23T10:24:21","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T10:24:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=24352"},"modified":"2026-02-23T10:24:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T10:24:21","slug":"new-russia-sanctions-on-hold-as-hungary-blocks-eu-package-ahead-of-fourth-anniversary-of-ukraine-war-europe-live-world-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=24352","title":{"rendered":"New Russia sanctions on hold as Hungary blocks EU package ahead of fourth anniversary of Ukraine war \u2013 Europe live | World news"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Morning opening: New Russia sanctions on hold<\/h2>\n
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\"Jakub<\/div>\n

Jakub Krupa<\/span><\/div>\n<\/header>\n

The European Union<\/a> is increasingly unlikely to reach an agreement on the new, 20th package of sanctions against Russia ahead of tomorrow\u2019s fourth anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, as Hungary continues to block the package.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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<\/svg><\/span>EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas arrives at the start of a Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, Belgium.<\/span> Photograph: Olivier Matthys\/EPA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas<\/strong> admitted this morning that “there is not going to be progress\u201d on this issue today,<\/strong> as Budapest continues to block the adoption of the sanctions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are doing our utmost to have the sanctions package \u2026 through \u2026 and we are looking for ways how we can do it. But as we have heard some very strong statements from Hungary<\/strong>, \u2026 I don\u2019t really \u2026 see they are going to change this unfortunately today,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Hungary opposes the proposed measures \u2013 as well as the payment of the \u20ac90bn loan for Ukraine<\/a> \u2013 as part of its escalating dispute with Ukraine about oil transit using the Druzhba pipeline.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hungarian foreign minister P\u00e9ter Szijj\u00e1rt\u00f3<\/strong> said on Sunday that \u201cuntil Ukraine resumes oil transit to Hungary and Slovakia via the Druzhba pipeline, we will not allow decisions important to Kyiv to move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

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It also comes just six weeks before the key parliamentary election in the country,<\/strong> which could see its pro-Russian prime minister Viktor Orb\u00e1n<\/strong> ousted after 16 years in power.<\/p>\n

The embattled leader \u2013 currently trailing 10 points behind the opposition leader, Tisza\u2019s P\u00e9ter<\/strong> Magyar<\/strong> \u2013 increasingly turns to anti-Ukrainian rhetoric to falsely allege a conspiracy between Kyiv and Brussels to remove him from office and talk about the risk of war expanding to Hungary.<\/p>\n

The failure to agree on the new package of sanctions would be politically embarrasing for the bloc<\/strong> as its leaders, including the commission president Ursula von der Leyen, plan to travel to Kyiv on Tuesday to mark the anniversary.<\/p>\n

I will bring you all the key lines from Brussels here<\/strong>, as well as other stories from across Europe<\/a>, as we expect Rob Jetten to be sworn in as the new Dutch prime minister, Finland\u2019s Alexander Stubb to meet France\u2019s Emmanuel Macron in Paris<\/strong>, and hear from the European Parliament on the future of the EU-US trade deal.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s Monday, 23 February 2026,<\/strong> it\u2019s Jakub Krupa<\/strong> here, and this is Europe Live.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Good morning.<\/strong><\/p>\n