EU signs off on Ukraine loan, new Russia sanctions

BRUSSELS

The EU on Thursday gave final approval to a 90-billion-euro ($105 billion) loan for Ukraine and a new round of sanctions on Russia, in a boost for Kiev after a prolonged row.

The measures were signed off when Hungary and Slovakia dropped objections after Ukraine restarted oil flows following repairs to the damaged Druzhba pipeline.

"Deadlock over," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas posted online. "Russia's war economy is under growing strain, while Ukraine is getting a major boost."

The row has held up EU support for Ukraine at a time when the United States has largely cut Kiev off and eased sanctions on Russian oil amid the Iran war.

Hungary's outgoing prime minister Viktor Orban — who suffered a crushing election defeat this month — stalled the loan as leverage to get Ukraine to fix the pipeline carrying Russian oil to his landlocked country.

The green light means that Brussels should be able to start paying out the funds in the coming months that Kiev badly needs to plug budget blackholes four years into Russia's invasion.

At the same time, the EU's 27 countries also signed off on a new package of sanctions against Moscow that had been held up by both Hungary and Slovakia over the same row.

The new round of economic punishment for the Kremlin — the 20th by the EU since the war started — targets Russia's energy, banking and trade sectors.

The measures were expected to include clamping down further on the so-called "shadow fleet" of ageing tankers that Moscow uses to dodge oil export restrictions, and curbs on Russian cryptocurrency traders.