Restricted Optimism Marks European Council Summit
At the European Council summit in Brussels, EU leaders reaffirmed their support for Ukraine, approving a 19th package of sanctions against Russia and discussing ways to repair Ukraine’s damaged energy sector. Spain and Finland joined NATO’s PURL programme to supply air defence systems, while talks continued on using frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine’s defence. Although some issues remain unresolved, the summit showed cautious optimism and stronger collective commitment to European and Ukrainian security.