Hungary has asserted that the United States has removed sanctions that were previously restricting the expansion of its Paks Nuclear Power Plant, a project led by Russia’s state-owned energy company Rosatom. This initiative, aimed at upgrading the plant with two new reactors, has faced significant challenges due to the sanctions imposed by the U.S. administration under former President Joe Biden. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, citing Bloomberg, stated that the removal of these sanctions has enabled the construction of major equipment for the Paks plant to resume in Russia and France. He emphasized that this progress will allow the project to proceed at a faster pace on-site. However, the U.S. government has not officially confirmed or responded to these claims, leaving the situation uncertain. The project, which has encountered delays, is designed to expand the existing four reactors at the Paks plant, contributing to Hungary’s energy needs. While the U.S. has not acted on the announcement, the new administration under President Donald Trump has taken a different approach, focusing on encouraging peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. This shift in U.S. policy has left Russia in a position to find alternative ways to bypass sanctions, such as using shadow fleets and other financial mechanisms, thereby mitigating the impact of sanctions on its activities. Meanwhile, Hungary’s Energy Minister Csaba Lantos predicted that the Paks II project would be completed by 2032, although the Ukrainian side has expressed concerns, with the Ukrainian president’s commissioner for sanctions, Vladyslav Vlasiuk, accusing Hungary of manipulating the situation. Vlasiuk highlighted that the Paks plant may benefit from a sanctions exemption from the EU and suggested that the U.S. has not fully lifted the sanctions. These conflicting statements underscore the complexity of the geopolitical landscape surrounding the Paks Nuclear Power Plant expansion, with implications for international sanctions policy, energy security, and regional stability.