Britain and France Thursday voiced hope that a military plan to protect the Strait of Hormuz was coming together and would succeed in restoring trade flows through the vital passage.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday vowed the United States would destroy any vessel laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, as he ratchets up pressure on Iran to reopen the crucial sea passage.

"I have ordered the United States Navy to shoot and kill any boat, small boats though they may be... that is putting mines in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

The European Union on Thursday approved a massive loan package to help Ukraine meet its economic and military needs for the next two years, the bloc's Cypriot presidency said, after Hungary lifted its veto.

The EU also approved a new raft of sanctions against Russia over its war on Ukraine. The measures were prepared early this year and set to be announced in February to mark the fourth anniversary of the conflict, but Hungary and Slovakia opposed the move.

U.S. weapons deliveries to Ukraine haven't stopped despite the Iran war, and Ukrainian long-range strikes continue to hammer Russian oil production and manufacturing plants, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday.

"Of course, we are hitting what is painful for Russia, and it is very painful," Zelensky said in voice messages to reporters. He said that Russian losses in the strikes have reached tens of billions of dollars.

Two commuter trains collided head-on near the Danish capital on Thursday injuring 17, of whom five were in critical condition, emergency services said.

"We can't provide any details for now about the cause of the accident," police official Morten Kaare Pedersen told reporters.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Iran had halted alleged plans to execute eight women arrested over anti-government protests, after he urged Tehran to release them to help peace negotiations.

A second round of U.S.-Iran talks could take place within the next three days, the New York Post reported Wednesday, citing unnamed Pakistani sources and President Donald Trump.

Ukraine is pushing for face-to-face talks between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kyiv's top diplomat said, presenting a potential summit as a way of injecting new momentum into U.S.-led efforts to end Russia's more than four-year invasion of its neighbor.

Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone attack deep inside Russia struck a residential building, killing a woman and a child, Russian officials said Wednesday.

European Union envoys gathered on Wednesday with the majority cautiously optimistic that a massive loan to help meet Ukraine's military and financial needs for the next two years may soon be approved after months of deadlock.

At a meeting in Brussels, the envoys assessed whether Hungary might lift its veto on the 90-billion-euro ($106 billion) loan package, which Ukraine desperately needs to prop up its war-ravaged economy and help keep Russian forces at bay.

Iran's foreign minister said on Tuesday the Islamic republic knew how to "resist bullying", as a ceasefire was due to expire and Tehran had yet to formally respond to an invite to talks with the U.S. in Islamabad.