Austria had insisted Brussels unfreeze Russian assets to compensate for penalties imposed by Moscow, but has now dropped the demand ahead of a vote scheduled for 20 October.
Slovakia will transfer five Bożena demining machines and medical equipment to Ukraine in the first direct military aid package since Robert Fico's government halted transfers in October 2023
Ukraine will receive five Bożena remotely controlled demining machines from Slovakia despite the prime minister's earlier freeze on direct military transfers
Slovakia's FM called Ukraine's Druzhba pipeline attacks counterproductive, noting the strikes could eliminate diesel shipments that represent one-tenth of Ukraine's monthly consumption.
Ambassadors greenlight the 18th sanctions round ahead of formal Council approval: Malta and Slovakia dropped their vetoes after receiving key guarantees.