Ukraine cannot win the war with Russia on the battlefield, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Tuesday, adding dialogue and a ceasefire were needed to save lives.

LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - Hungary will hold up a final deal on a $50 billion G7 loan to Ukraine until after the U.S. presidential election by delaying its decision on the timing of the renewal of EU sanctions against Russia, Hungary's finance minister said.

Hungary has opted not to support the EU decision to provide Ukraine with a US$35 billion loan at the expense of profits of frozen Russian assets, until the presidential election in the United States.

"We believe that this issue, the prolongation of the Russian sanctions, should be decided after the U.S. elections. We have to see in which direction the future U.S. administration is going with this issue,

The EU's plan to raise a €35 billion loan for Ukraine involves a key change in the sanctions regime that Hungary is so far blocking. #EuropeNews