Boma Achenimie 
On Monday, the European Union (EU) announced renewing its wide-ranging sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine after Hungary stopped holding up the move in return for a declaration on energy security.
The bloc’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, posted on social media that the EU Foreign Ministers have agreed to extend sanctions against Russia. again
New Telegraph gathered that profits from the frozen assets are being used to finance a $50-billion loan to Ukraine backed by the G7.
Meanwhile, officials from other EU countries had warned that failure to roll over the sanctions before a January 31 deadline would have consequences, such as the unfreezing of Russian assets in Europe used to help Kyiv.
The sanctions are up for renewal including all sector-based bans on trade as well as measures that immobilised Russia’s central bank assets.
Legally, the EU’s 27 countries must unanimously vote to renew the restrictions every six months.
“This will continue to deprive Moscow of revenues to finance its war. Russia needs to pay for the damage they are causing,” she said.
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Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, who maintains close ties with Moscow, had first called for consultations with the United States President Donald Trump administration before a renewal decision, saying it was time for a sanctions-free relationship with Russia.
However, President Trump has not backed the Hungarian position.
He said last week that he was ready to increase economic pressure on Russia to strike a peace deal.
At a meeting of EU ambassadors on Monday, the European Commission presented a statement declaring that it was ready to continue discussions with Ukraine on the supply to Europe through the gas pipeline system in Ukraine.
When asked at a press conference whether the statement actually meant anything, Kallas said: “Well, it meant something to Hungary, so that mattered.”
