February 2, Friday, 2024

1. Ukraine says its forces have destroyed a Russian missile ship in the Russian-controlled southern region of Crimea. Ukraine’s defense intelligence agency said on Thursday that one of its units sank the Black Sea Fleet’s Ivanovets in the waters off the western side of Crimea.
2. The Lebanon-based Shia militant group Hezbollah has expressed its determination to continue resistance to Israel unless the country ends its attacks in the Gaza Strip. A senior official of Hezbollah’s political arm, Hussein al-Hajj Hassan, told NHK on Thursday that Israel has failed to produce any results in Gaza and is heading toward defeat.
3. The European Union has agreed on a new aid package for Ukraine. It is worth 50 billion euros, or 54 billion dollars. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, “Ukraine is fighting for us. So we will support them with the necessary funding and provide them with the much needed predictability they deserve. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joined the meeting online and later thanked the members.