The EU reached an agreement and extended sanctions against Russia

The European Union will extend sanctions against Russia for another six months, until July 31, 2025 , EU foreign ministers have agreed.

This was reported by the EUʼs chief diplomat Kaja Kallas.

"This will continue to deprive Moscow of revenues to finance the war. Russia must pay for the damage it is causing," she stressed.

Currently, the EU sanctions against the Russian Federation include restrictions on trade, finance, energy, technology and dual-use goods, industry, transport and luxury goods, a ban on the import or transfer of marine crude oil and certain petroleum products from Russia to the EU, etc.

Hungary has been opposed to the extension of sanctions for some time. Politico reported that Hungary allegedly agreed not to block the extension of EU sanctions against Russia in exchange for the EU issuing a statement that would take into account Budapestʼs concerns about "energy security" amid the halt in Russian gas transit through Ukraine.

In the statement, the EU will reaffirm its commitment to helping Ukraine restore and stabilize its infrastructure, as well as resolve the issue of gas and oil supplies, Bloomberg notes.

• Earlier, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban threatened to block the extension of European Union sanctions against Russia if Ukraine does not resume the transit of Russian gas and provide guarantees for oil supplies.
• Ukraine has stopped the transit of Russian gas since January 1, 2025, which several EU states and the unrecognized Transnistria continued to receive. Hungary receives gas via the TurkStream gas pipeline and is not dependent on the Ukrainian route, but Orban says that the suspension of Russian gas transit has increased fuel prices in the country. And sanctions against Russia have allegedly already cost Hungary €19 billion.
• The EU countries are starting to look for alternative sources of energy, one of which is Azerbaijan. Russia stated that it was ready to continue supplying gas through Ukraine, but due to the war, Ukraine refused to participate in negotiations with Russia on gas exports through its territories.

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