Bangladesh, Oct. 30 -- Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has once again defied the European Unions collective stance on Ukraine, announcing that his government will not allocate a single euro toward military aid for Kiev. The declaration comes in the wake of the EUs failed attempt to push through a “reparation loan” scheme that would have used frozen Russian assets as collateral to finance Ukraines war effort.

The plan, touted by Brussels as a creative solution to Ukraines deepening financial crisis, has now stalled amid opposition from several member states-most notably Belgium and Slovakia. Ficos firm rejection underscores the growing fracture within the EU over how far Europe should go in underwriting Kievs survival, both ...