Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is vowing to rid his country of foreign-funded groups, calling them a “shadow army” serving the European Union and a “liberal American empire.”

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban pledged on Saturday to crack down on politicians and journalists who receive foreign funding and again ruled out EU membership for Ukraine, stepping up his campaign for elections due in a year.

Hungary’s populist prime minister on Saturday vowed to rid his country of those he claims work for the interests of foreign powers, saying his right-wing government will eliminate a global “shadow army” serving the European Union and a “liberal American empire.

The EU Friday agreed to drop three Russian individuals from its sanctions list as the price for Hungary's Viktor Orban to drop a threat to veto Europe's sanctions against Russia.

The European Union has reached a deal with Hungary to renew sanctions on more than 2,400 primarily Russian entities and individuals hours before they were set to expire on March 15, an EU official with knowledge of the negotiations told the Kyiv independent.

The EU has removed a number of Russians from its sanctions list after pressure from Hungary and Slovakia, securing a deal to extend broader measures. The move highlights growing divisions within the bloc over its stance on Moscow,