Hungary demands the removal of three Russian citizens from the EU sanctions list, Politico reported, citing sources.

On September 15, the deadline for extending the EU sanctions against a number of Russian citizens expires. Inside the bloc, this extension was seen as a technical formality, as had been the case with previous sanctions against Russia over Ukraine since 2014.

But Hungary intervened. Budapest requested that three Russian citizens be removed from the EU sanctions list, four diplomats and EU officials said. The move infuriated other EU countries.

According to the two diplomats, the individuals in question are Russian businessmen Alisher Usmanov, Pyotr Aven and Viktor Rashnikov.

Usmanov made his fortune in mining and investment and is a former shareholder of the Arsenal soccer club; Aven is a businessman and politician who ran Russia's largest commercial bank; and Rashnikov is a billionaire in the iron and steel industry.

Hungarian government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said the EU would make a joint decision on the sanctions list. "EU sanctions lists are constantly being reviewed, and there are concerns that the inclusion of certain individuals or entities on the sanctions list is not sufficiently justified," he wrote on Twitter.

Hungary has also asked the EU to expand exceptions to humanitarian aid sanctions. This has raised fears in other EU countries that Budapest wants to create loopholes in EU sanctions at a time when the European Commission is trying to tighten the rules.

EU envoys intend to discuss the war in Ukraine at a meeting on Wednesday. Although an extension of the sanctions lists is not officially on the agenda, Hungary's demands are bound to come up during the talks, given the backlash they have already caused, diplomats said.