- Another Russian ship sank in the occupied Crimea. Overnight into Thursday, February 1, Ukrainian intelligence operatives successfully sank the Ivanovets missile boat from the Russian Black Sea Fleet, valued at approximately 60-70 million dollars. Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate reported this operation. Russia’s guided missile ship was anchored in Donuzlav Lake in the temporarily occupied Crimea. It suffered multiple hits to its hull before it sank. The night-time footage provided by Ukraine’s intelligence appears to show naval drones rushing towards the Russian ship, detonating on impact and causing substantial damage to the vessel; at the end of the video, the ship appears to have sunk, leaving only its bow above water. Russian occupation forces’ search and rescue operation launched in Donuzlav proved to be unsuccessful. Missile boats like Ivanovets typically carry up to 40 military personnel onboard. The operation against Ivanovets was carried out by the Main Intelligence Directorate’s “Group 13” unit. Ukraine’s intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, later confirmed that operatives destroyed Ivanovets using the MAGURA V5 naval drones. MAGURA stands for the full name Maritime Autonomous Guard Unmanned Robotic Apparatus. It’s a multi-purpose unmanned surface vehicle of a new generation developed in Ukraine and capable of performing various operations, including surveillance, reconnaissance, mine countermeasures, naval fleet protection, and combat missions. In total, the Russian Black Sea Fleet had three boats of the same type as Ivanovets. The ship was equipped with the Moskit anti-ship missiles boasting a range of up to 130 km.
- Three Russian aircraft were destroyed in temporarily occupied Crimea. The spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Forces, Yuri Ignat, said that following Ukraine’s strike on the Belbek military airfield in temporarily occupied Crimea, at least three Russian aircraft suffered damage; Russian military personnel were also reportedly liquidated. Ignat noted that the Russians themselves later admitted to the aircraft damage and personnel losses, acknowledging them in a number of online obituaries. Earlier, Natalia Humeniuk, the spokesperson for the Southern Defence Forces, mentioned that the Russians claimed that at least five missiles struck the airfield and said that they didn’t have enough time to disperse the aircraft fleet, including the planes damaged at Belbek. On the evening of January 31, the Russian Ministry of Defence claimed they shot down 17 guided missiles over the Black Sea and another 3 over the temporarily occupied Crimea, blaming Ukraine for the attack. Russians also asserted that the missile fragments fell on the territory of a military unit near the settlement of Lyubymivka, not far from the Belbek airfield. Head of the illegal Russian occupation administration in Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhaev, stated that supposedly 6 missiles were shot down over the city and its surroundings, affecting at least 12 buildings. Commander of Ukraine’s Air Force, Mykola Oleshchuk, commented on the attack, noting that “the Belbek airfield has always been the regular deployment site for Ukrainian brigades, and Ukrainian aviators will definitely return home to their native airfield”.
- Ukraine FM: “The decision on Russian frozen assets will be made in 2024.” Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, stated that Ukraine, in collaboration with its partners, aims to reach a decision on the use of frozen Russian assets in 2024. Kuleba announced this at a press conference in Kyiv with his Canadian counterpart, Mélanie Joly. “The decision will undoubtedly be made in 2024. The decision has its complexities and may be introduced gradually. First, regarding the income tax on the frozen asset, the income itself, and the rest of the assets,” Kuleba noted. He emphasised that there is ongoing work on this issue and “there are initial results, and I believe that the decision will be in 2024 […] I hope that Canada will be able to complete all the legal procedures and set an important precedent for transferring material Russian assets to Ukraine,” added the Kuleba. In turn, Joly emphasised in this context that Canada has currently imposed 2,800 sanctions against Russia and Russian citizens. “We have frozen bank accounts related to Abramovich’s company. Our goal is to win the legal cases that are already in court. We want to make sure that the sanctions work,” explained the head of the Canadian foreign affairs ministry.
- EU approves $50 billion funding package for Ukraine amid crucial phase in war. All 27 European Union leaders have unanimously endorsed a multi-year aid package of 50 billion euros for Ukraine, as confirmed by Charles Michel, President of the European Council. “We have a deal. All 27 leaders agreed on an additional €50 billion support package for Ukraine within the EU budget. This locks in steadfast, long-term, predictable funding for Ukraine. EU is taking leadership & responsibility in support for Ukraine; we know what is at stake”, he wrote. It’s noteworthy that the dedicated financial instrument for Ukraine, known as the Ukraine Facility, allocates funding of up to 50 billion euros over a four-year period (2024–2027). The European Commission aims to establish a comprehensive financing package comprising grants and loans. These resources are designed to bolster macro-financial stability, foster Ukraine’s recovery, and facilitate its modernisation in the context of Eurointegration. Initially, Slovakia and Hungary opposed allocating a multi-billion aid package to Ukraine. However, Prime Minister Robert Fico of Slovakia promised that his country would not block the decision. Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán kept insisting on his own conditions for approving the package, including an annual review of this aid to Ukraine. Despite Orbán’s public statements, a few days before the adoption of the package, Ukraine received signals that all EU members, including Hungary, would support the decision. Orbán has reportedly agreed with fellow EU leaders on a €50 billion support package for Ukraine, following the pressure after a series of meetings with the Italian, French, and German prime ministers. Two compromises were reached: a commitment to review the deal within two years if necessary, considering the new EU budget. Additionally, an extra measure was introduced concerning the rule of law conditionality mechanism.
Ukraine destroys a Russian guided missile ship and several Russian aircraft in occupied Crimea, EU approves $50 billion funding package for Ukraine: February 2 updates
2 February 2024, 16:11
