Patriarch Kirill, the head of Russia’s Orthodox Church, will be excluded from the latest package of EU sanctions against Russia after Hungary’s objection, three diplomats have told Euronews.

Brussels accuses Patriarch Kirill of supporting the invasion of Ukraine and acting as a propagandist for Vladimir Putin’s regime.

In a sermon delivered in early May, Kirill stated that “Russia has never attacked anyone” and that “we don’t want to go to war”.

“It is amazing that a great and mighty country has never attacked anyone - it has only defended its borders”, - he added.

Hungary repeatedly said it was against the blacklist, calling it an issue of religious freedom.

“[Our] position on the Patriarch had been known for long”, - tweeted Hungarian spokesperson Zoltan Kovacs.