Ukraine wants new sanctions against Russia, but Brussels can't help. Diplomats and officials say no one wants to talk about a new sanctions package after Hungary stalled the last one. If Ukraine and its supporters had any hope left for new EU sanctions in the short term, Hungary has simply crushed it, Politico reported.

This week, Budapest opposed the usual extension of EU sanctions against Russian citizens, calling for three businessmen to be removed from the list. The threats demonstrated that Hungary's leader, Viktor Orban, is not afraid to use any tools at his disposal - in this case an automatic technical procedure - to exert political influence.

After more than six months of war, the EU seems to have lost its sanctioning influence. As one senior EU official said, the bloc simply no longer thinks about sanctions.

The long delay in passing an EU ban on Russian oil - and the agonizing process of working out exemptions and compensations for stubborn countries like Hungary - has left bitter memories. Orban's actions this week were another reminder of that painful episode.

As for the future of the package, the real fear is that Hungary may not just stall, but actually block the solution entirely, the diplomat noted.

And it's not just Hungary. There is also concern about Italy's future position on sanctions once a new government is formed.  Matteo Salvini, leader of the far-right Italian party Liga, said that Western sanctions against Russia are hurting Italy and called on other leaders to reconsider their approach.

In general, Western Europe has become weary of sanctions, especially since it is becoming increasingly difficult to find measures that hurt Russia more than they hurt the EU economically. More importantly, growing voter anger over soaring energy prices and consumer prices is also making European politicians increasingly nervous.

But even this is not an easy task. Ukrainian Deputy Justice Minister Irina Mudra is touring European and U.S. capitals this month to persuade governments to track down assets of sanctioned Russians and confiscate them. The EU laid some legal groundwork for such steps earlier this year, but little has happened since proposing legislation that would make sanctions evasion a crime and create grounds for confiscating private assets.

Sanctions fatigue is irritating Ukraine and EU countries that oppose Moscow, such as Poland and the Baltic states. According to two EU diplomats, the more hawkish countries are still lobbying for a possible future round of EU sanctions against Russia.

While the hawkish campaign will continue, they may have to wait a long time.