Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal says Europe is already engaged in a hybrid war with Russia and may struggle to withstand it without Ukraine.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine is ready to discuss various options for a deal with the US on access to the extraction of valuable natural resources on its territory, which Donald Trump is interested in. The key principle is that it should be a mutually beneficial format.

US President Donald Trump has stated that Ukraine "essentially agreed" to allow the US access to mineral extraction on its territory in exchange for aid.

Latvia has ordered Patria 6x6 armoured personnel carriers to be delivered to Ukraine later this year.

The Moldovan government has announced that the authorities in the unrecognised region of Transnistria, under pressure from Moscow, have rejected €60 million in EU aid to tackle its energy crisis. Despite this, gas will still be supplied to the region.

European countries are exploring a legal mechanism to tighten inspections and allow the confiscation of tankers transporting Russian oil through the Baltic Sea, citing their ongoing risk of environmental disaster and "accidental" damage to underwater infrastructure.

UK Defence Intelligence has stated that January 2025 was Russia's second-worst month in terms of personnel losses after December 2024, and that the Russians are expected to continue losing an average of more than 1,000 people a day.

The Georgian Dream, the ruling political party in Georgia, has announced additional restrictions on protests and the toughening of penalties.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz criticised US President Donald Trump's demand that Ukraine supply rare earth metals to the US in exchange for financial aid  on the evening of Monday, 3 February after an informal EU defence summit in Brussels.

Călin Georgescu, a far-right pro-Russian Romanian politician who won the annulled first round of the presidential election, has stated that his comments about the possible annexation of parts of Ukrainian territory were purely theoretical.

Nika Melia, the leader of the Akhali opposition party who was arrested during pro-European protests in Tbilisi, has been released, while over 30 people remain in detention.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, following Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, has declared that Budapest will block the next extension of EU sanctions against Russia unless Ukraine "refrains from measures that harm Hungary’s energy security".

The EU countries are still agreeing on the specific details of what will be included in the 16th package of sanctions against Russia, and the work on it is expected to be completed in February.

The EU leadership believes that they will find a way to reach an agreement with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán so that he does not block the actual start of negotiations with Ukraine on joining the European Union.