A bipartisan pair of U.S. senators is set to introduce legislation that would seek sanctions on senior Hungarian officials involved in blocking aid to Ukraine and maintaining the country’s reliance on Russian energy, the Financial Times reported.

The proposed measure, called the Block Putin Act, would require President Donald Trump to impose financial sanctions and visa bans on Hungarian officials tied to purchases of Russian oil and gas and to efforts to obstruct support for Ukraine, the FT said. The bill is being introduced as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán continues to hold up a €90-billion EU loan to Ukraine over a dispute related to suspended Russian oil shipments. 

Orbán, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has accused Kyiv of intentionally disrupting transfers of the oil by slow-walking repairs to the Druzhba pipeline, which crosses through Ukraine. 

The legislation is backed by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Thom Tillis (R-NC), co-chairs of the Senate NATO observer group. Both lawmakers have been vocal critics of Europe’s continued dependence on Russian energy, the FT said. 

The draft bill, seen by the news outlet, does not explicitly name Orbán as a sanctions target. Instead, it would leave it to the Trump administration to determine which Hungarian officials were responsible for impeding aid to Ukraine and preserving Hungary’s dependence on Russian energy, according to a congressional aide cited by the newspaper.

Hungary and Slovakia have increased their dependence on Russian energy even as much of Europe has tried to reduce purchases of Russian oil and gas since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the FT reported.

Read more at the Financial Times