Estonia continues to insist that Russian oil refineries and energy facilities should be destroyed because they fund Russia's war against Ukraine.

European Union leaders plan to call for a ban on the export through EU territory of grain that Russia steals from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

Ukraine will be at the top of the agenda on 16 October, the second day of the European Council meeting in Brussels. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to attend.

From March 2022 to July 2026, European Union countries paid Russia around €197 billion or approximately US$209 billion for fossil fuels.

The European Union must focus on three points as it prepares to accept new members: strengthening safeguards against backsliding on democratic norms, enabling more flexible decision-making, and expanding gradual integration for candidate states prior to full accession.

A source has told European Pravda that US weapons and ammunition supplies to Ukraine through the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) mechanism are continuing, despite US President Donald Trump's demands.

Elections cannot be held in Ukraine while the war is still ongoing, so international pressure should be directed primarily at Russia to force it to end the war.

The European Union welcomes the agreement on an energy ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, but has yet to see evidence that Moscow is complying with it, and is therefore calling for increased sanctions pressure.

On 12 October, the EU Foreign Affairs Council will discuss the possibility of introducing further restrictions on the movement of Russian diplomats between EU member states, potentially including a complete ban on travel outside the country to which they are accredited.

The European Commission has condemned the Russian attack on civilians in Kramatorsk and emphasised that all perpetrators and accomplices of war crimes must be held accountable.

Hungary has informed the European Commission that it will not comply with the EU Temporary Protection Directive regarding the prohibition on granting protection to individuals who have unfulfilled military obligations to Ukraine.

The European Union has called on Russia to cease attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea and, upon request from Romania and Bulgaria, is providing satellite imagery to monitor the situation following the strikes.

Hungary has agreed to allow Ukraine to move forward in its EU accession negotiations, clearing the way for the opening of Cluster 2, Internal Market, and Cluster 3, Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth.

The EU Council's Working Party on Enlargement and Countries Negotiating Accession to the EU (COELA) will once again consider the documents relating to clusters 2 and 3 of Ukraine's EU accession negotiations on 7 October, with Hungary not expected to block their approval.

A special regime of restrictions for Ukrainian agriculture after Ukraine's accession to the EU is planned to be included in the EU's negotiating position at the stage of opening Cluster 5: Resources, Agriculture and Cohesion.

The College of Commissioners plans to approve EU accession roadmaps for the four leading candidate countries – Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine and Moldova – on 28 October, alongside the annual progress reports for candidate countries.

The European Union has no plans to raise the issue of reinstating sanctions against Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman in the near future. The Russian oligarchs were recently removed from the EU sanctions list under pressure from France and Slovakia.

Two more negotiating clusters for Ukraine and Moldova could be opened next week if the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian parliament) adopts the necessary law.

EU and Ukrainian representatives concluded during a joint meeting on 1 October that Ukraine currently has no need for additional international funding in 2026.

The European Commission and Ukraine have said they have identified ways to cover Ukraine's budget and defence needs for 2026, as well as the steps required to ensure the timely provision of the relevant funding.