The EU Friday agreed to drop three Russian individuals from its sanctions list as the price for Hungary's Viktor Orban to drop a threat to veto Europe's sanctions against Russia.

The EU has removed three Russian oligarchs from the latest sanctions list under pressure from Hungary, Vedomosti reported on March 14 citing Bloomberg. EU sources say the three unnamed Russian citizens were removed from the sanctions list and the EU has begun the so-called written procedure,

The EU has agreed to remove four individuals from its sanctions list against Russia after a delay from Hungary, AFP and Reuters reported Friday, paving the way for the bloc to extend restrictions on more than 2,

The European Union has reached a deal with Hungary to renew sanctions on more than 2,400 primarily Russian entities and individuals hours before they were set to expire on March 15, an EU official with knowledge of the negotiations told the Kyiv independent.

The European Union (EU) is facing a major challenge as Hungary is threatening to block the renewal of sanctions against around 2,000 Russian individuals. These sanctions include travel restrictions and the freezing of assets belonging to politicians and business figures believed to have supported Russia’s war efforts in Ukraine.

Hungary has used its veto to force the lifting of EU sanctions on several Russians, several diplomats confirmed to dpa on Friday. One of the Russians involved is oligarch Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor, a major shareholder in one of Russia's largest fertilizer manufacturers who has close ties to President Vladimir Putin.

Hungary’s ambassador to the EU demanded that Mikhail Fridman be removed from the sanctions list, threatening to block the extension of EU sanctions imposed on about 2,000 Russians otherwise, the Financial Times reported,