NATO Allies Pledge Additional Air Defense Systems for Kyiv, Stoltenberg Says

 Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a press conference at the end of a virtual meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council (NUC) at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, on April 19, 2024. (AFP)
Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a press conference at the end of a virtual meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council (NUC) at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, on April 19, 2024. (AFP)
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NATO Allies Pledge Additional Air Defense Systems for Kyiv, Stoltenberg Says

 Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a press conference at the end of a virtual meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council (NUC) at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, on April 19, 2024. (AFP)
Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a press conference at the end of a virtual meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council (NUC) at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, on April 19, 2024. (AFP)

NATO allies on Friday agreed to provide Kyiv with additional air defense systems, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said after a special meeting of allied defense ministers with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

"In addition to Patriots, there are other weapons that allies can provide, including (the French system) SAMP/T, and many others, who do not have available systems, have pledged to provide financial support to purchase them for Ukraine," Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels.

Zelenskiy asked for the meeting, which was held online, as his country is facing a shortage of ammunition, with vital funding from the US blocked by Republicans in Congress for months and the EU failing to deliver munitions on time.

Stoltenberg didn't go into detail how many new air defense systems Ukraine will receive, but said he expected fresh announcements in the coming days.

"Help is on its way. And I expect more help and support to be announced in the very near future," he told reporters.

Last week, Germany pledged to supply Kyiv with a third Patriot battery out of its military stocks.

The United States has the highest number of Patriot systems in its inventories. In Europe, nations such as Spain and Greece own Patriot batteries.



Lawyer: South Korea's Yoon to Accept Court Decision Even if it Ends Presidency

Yoon Kab-keun, lawyer for South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, attends a press conference in Seoul on January 9, 2025. (Photo by JUNG YEON-JE / AFP)
Yoon Kab-keun, lawyer for South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, attends a press conference in Seoul on January 9, 2025. (Photo by JUNG YEON-JE / AFP)
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Lawyer: South Korea's Yoon to Accept Court Decision Even if it Ends Presidency

Yoon Kab-keun, lawyer for South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, attends a press conference in Seoul on January 9, 2025. (Photo by JUNG YEON-JE / AFP)
Yoon Kab-keun, lawyer for South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, attends a press conference in Seoul on January 9, 2025. (Photo by JUNG YEON-JE / AFP)

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will accept the decision of the Constitutional Court that is trying parliament's impeachment case against him, even if it decides to remove the suspended leader from office, his lawyer said on Thursday.
"So if the decision is 'removal', it cannot but be accepted," Yoon Kab-keun, the lawyer for Yoon, told a news conference, when asked if Yoon would accept whatever the outcome of trial was.
Yoon has earlier defied the court's requests to submit legal briefs before the court began its hearing on Dec. 27, but his lawyers have said he was willing to appear in person to argue his case.
The suspended president has defied repeated summons in a separate criminal investigation into allegations he masterminded insurrection with his Dec. 3 martial law bid.
Yoon, the lawyer, said the president is currently at his official residence and appeared healthy, amid speculation over the suspended leader's whereabouts.
Presidential security guards resisted an initial effort to arrest Yoon last week though he faces another attempt after a top investigator vowed to do whatever it takes to break a security blockade and take in the embattled leader.
Seok Dong-hyeon, another lawyer advising Yoon, said Yoon viewed the attempts to arrest him as politically motivated and aimed at humiliating him by bringing him out in public wearing handcuffs.