Live blog: $54B aid package to Ukraine sends 'strong message to Putin' — EU

Thursday, February 1, 2024

The European Union's agreement $54 billion (50 billion euros) in aid for Ukraine sends a powerful message to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen has said.

"This 50 billion euros for four years also sent a very strong message to Putin just ahead of the second anniversary of his brutal invasion," the president of the European Commission told a news conference wrapping up a summit in Brussels.

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1530 GMT — Ukrainian nuclear staff barred from Russia-held plant: IAEA

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said that workers from Ukraine's atomic energy operator Energoatom have been barred from the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant was taken over by Russian forces in March 2022, one month after Moscow launched its military campaign in Ukraine, and its six reactors have been shut down.

As the plant is now manned by staff who have taken Russian nationality, it was not clear how many people are affected by the new order.

1528 GMT — Tough, united stance helped convince Orban on Ukraine aid, says Polish PM

The fact that EU countries had an uncompromising and united stance in talks with Viktor Orban helped persuade the Hungarian prime minister to agree to the package for Ukraine, Poland's prime minister has said.

"No one will look for rotten compromises," Tusk told reporters in Brussels.

1527 GMT — EU unity on Ukraine aid could help spur divided US: EU chiefs

EU leaders' unanimous decision to extend the new aid to Ukraine should help inspire the United States, which is bogged down in negotiations about its own aid package, EU institution leaders have said.

"I think it will be an encouragement for the United States also to do their fair share," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told a news conference after a one-day summit of EU leaders.

European Council President Charles Michel, who chaired the summit, concurred.

"I'm convinced that this decision is also a signal to the American taxpayers, a demonstration that the EU assumes its responsibility and we know that we must show our leadership, must show that we are reliable and credible," he said.

1507 GMT — Kremlin says West does not agree on investigating Il-76 crash for 'fear of exposing itself’

The Kremlin has claimed that Western countries are refusing to take part in the investigation into the Russian military plane crash in the country’s Belgorod region last week for "fear of exposing themselves."

“None of them will be interested in conducting an investigation and stumbling upon themselves in this investigation. The position of the collective West, which is a direct participant in this armed conflict, is also obvious,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in a press briefing in Moscow.

On Wednesday, Putin declared that the plane was “downed” by an American Patriot system.

1351 GMT — Orban says got 'guarantee' for Hungary's fears

Hungary's Orban said he had received guarantees about billions of euros in suspended EU aid in return for lifting a veto on the financial aid for Ukraine.

He said Hungary had been worried that EU money intended for Hungary would go to Ukraine.

"We finally negotiated a control mechanism to guarantee that the money would be used sensibly, and we received a guarantee that Hungary's money would not end up in Ukraine" he said.

1243 GMT — Russia says it has no plans to deploy nuclear weapons abroad except in Belarus

Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov has said that Moscow has no plans to deploy nuclear weapon in other countries, except in Belarus.

Russian ally Belarus said in June that it had started taking delivery of Russian tactical nuclear weapons that Russia deployed in the neighbouring country in the first such deployment outside Russia since the Soviet era.

1238 GMT — Ukraine says 'destroyed' Russian warship off Crimea

Ukraine said Thursday it had destroyed a Russian warship in the Black Sea off the Crimean peninsula, which has come under increasing Ukrainian attacks.

Crimea, which was illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014 and is home to Russia's Black Sea Fleet, has been extensively targeted by Ukrainian drones and missiles.

"An enemy missile corvette was destroyed" during the night, Ukraine's military intelligence agency said in a statement online. Russia made no immediate comment.

The Ukraine agency named the vessel as the Ivanovets and claimed the ship was worth up to $70 million.

1031 GMT — EU members seal deal on $54B aid to Ukraine

European Council President Charles Michel says the 27 EU countries have sealed a deal on aid to Ukraine just over an hour into a summit of the bloc's leaders and despite threats from Hungary to veto the move.

“We have a deal,” Michel said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

He wrote that all “27 leaders agreed on an additional 50-billion-euro ($54 billion) support package for Ukraine within the EU budget.”

The announcement came despite staunch objections from Hungary in December and in the days leading up to Thursday's summit in Brussels.

Michel said that the move “locks in steadfast, long-term, predictable funding for Ukraine,” and demonstrates that the “EU is taking leadership and responsibility in support for Ukraine; we know what is at stake.”

0816 GMT — Ukraine urges US to supply Kiev with A-10 attack jets

The head of Ukraine's military intelligence has urged the United States to supply his country with A-10 attack jets, arguing they would bolster his military's offensive potential.

"A-10 assault aircraft could significantly strengthen Ukraine's frontline capabilities. They can indeed help inflict a military defeat on Russia," Kyrylo Budanov said in a post on social media.

0833 GMT — 'We need an agreement' by all EU states on Ukraine aid: Scholz

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has insisted on the need for all 27 European Union countries to agree on 50 billion euros in financial aid for Ukraine, currently blocked by Hungary.

"We need an agreement at 27," Scholz told reporters as leaders gathered in Brussels to try to overcome Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's veto. "We shouldn't look for workarounds."

0822 GMT — EU should agree to a long-term aid package for Ukraine: Estonian PM

EU member states should agree to a long-term aid package for Ukraine, Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said ahead of the summit regrouping leaders of the 27 EU member countries on the subject.

As Hungary's Obran is the only one of the 27 to voice his disapproval of the agreement and request a yearly vote on the long-term aid, Kallas said the "pattern of re-negotiation" over Ukraine aid should not return.

0816 GMT — Russia hits Ukraine medical facility injuring four: ministry

Ukraine said four people had been injured in a Russian missile attack on a medical facility in the eastern Kharkiv region, which has recently been under continuous bombardment.

Kiev also said Russian forces had launched four drones at Ukraine overnight and that air defence systems had downed two over Kharkiv.

The interior ministry said the missile attack late Wednesday targeted a village near Kupiansk, a frontline town Russian forces have been trying to capture.

0804 GMT — North Korean delegation to visit Moscow: Russian lawmaker

A North Korean delegation will visit the lower house of Russia's parliament on February 13, state news agency RIA has quoted a deputy from the opposition Communist Party as saying.

Communist lawmaker Kazbek Taysaev also said that a Russian parliamentary delegation planned to travel to North Korea in March.

0723 GMT — Russia says shoots down 11 drones overnight

Russia's Defence Ministry has said air defences shot down 11 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory overnight.

"This night, an attempt by the Kiev regime to commit a terrorist attack with aerial drones against sites on Russian territory was foiled," the ministry said in a statement. "Air defences intercepted and destroyed drones over the regions of Belgorod (four drones) and Kursk (one drone)", it said.

Around 0330 GMT, four more drones were shot down over the Belgorod region and two over the Voronezh region, it said.

2242 GMT — Ukraine aid deal stalls in US Congress

US Senate negotiators have struggled to finalise a bipartisan deal that would pair policy changes at the US southern border with wartime aid for Kiev as their carefully negotiated compromise ran into strong resistance from House Republicans and Donald Trump.

Senate negotiators have kept a close hold on the details of a bipartisan package on border enforcement and immigration policies that were supposed to unlock Republican support in Congress for aiding Ukraine.

2225 GMT — Commission to discuss new Russia sanctions proposal with EU countries

The European Commission will start informal high-level meetings with member states on Saturday on the details of a proposed new set of sanctions against Russia for its assault on Ukraine, three diplomatic sources have said.

The EU is keen to put a 13th package of measures together to mark the second anniversary of the conflict on February 24.

The discussions that begin on Saturday are a final step before the Commission officially delivers a new package to be debated and voted on by EU countries in the Council.

2200 GMT — Ukraine reports casualties from Russian raid on Kharkiv hospital

A Russian bomb has struck a hospital in northeastern Ukraine, slightly injuring four people and prompting an evacuation, the governor of the Kharkiv region said.

Oleh Synehubov, writing on Telegram, said 38 people had been evacuated from the facility in the town of Velykyi Burluk, northeast of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city. The four injured were treated at the site.

The hospital's facade, windows and roof sustained damage.

For our live updates from Wednesday, January 31, click here.