The European Union requires a unanimous vote to extend sanctions on Russia, a situation Hungary's Viktor Orban wants to use to pressure the bloc into forcing Ukraine to reopen a transit pipeline for Russian gas.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has stated that Hungary will only support the renewal of EU sanctions against Russia if Brussels pushes Ukraine to resume the transit of Russian gas to the EU. This comes ahead of an EU vote to extend sanctions,

The European Union is facing another potential showdown with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban over his refusal to sign off on an extension of sanctions on Russia over its war against Ukraine.