EU Extends Russia Sanctions Amid Tensions With Hungary, Slovakia

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The leaders of the European Union have decided to keep strong punishments (called sanctions) against Russia in place for another six months. These actions are meant to pressure Russia because of the war in Ukraine.

Some leaders were worried that Hungary, a country that has been more friendly with Russia, might stop the sanctions from being renewed. But in the end, Hungary agreed, so the rules will stay until at least early 2026. These include freezing over €200 billion of money from Russia's central bank.

However, there’s still a problem. The EU wanted to add even more new punishments against Russia. But Slovakia, another EU country, said “no.” The reason? Slovakia still depends on gas from Russia and also makes money from gas flowing through its land. They are upset about plans to stop Russian gas imports by 2027, so they blocked the new sanctions.

Slovakia’s leader, Robert Fico, tried to get some changes in a meeting with EU leaders but didn’t succeed, so he didn’t approve the new plan.

Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, asked the EU to bring in tougher actions, especially to stop Russia’s oil trade, secret shipping, banks, and weapon supplies. But a key part of that—lowering the price cap on Russian oil—was dropped because the United States didn’t agree with it during the G7 talks.