Zelenskiy Calls on Allies to Honor Promises on Arms Supplies to Ukraine

FILE PHOTO: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy leaves after a trilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and US President-elect Trump at the Elysee Palace in Paris in Paris, France, December 7, 2024. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy leaves after a trilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and US President-elect Trump at the Elysee Palace in Paris in Paris, France, December 7, 2024. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File Photo
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Zelenskiy Calls on Allies to Honor Promises on Arms Supplies to Ukraine

FILE PHOTO: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy leaves after a trilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and US President-elect Trump at the Elysee Palace in Paris in Paris, France, December 7, 2024. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy leaves after a trilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and US President-elect Trump at the Elysee Palace in Paris in Paris, France, December 7, 2024. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File Photo

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on allies on Sunday to honor all promises to supply Ukraine with weapons, including those to counter Russian air attacks.
Zelenskiy said that over the past week Russian forces had launched hundreds of strikes on Ukraine and nearly 700 aerial bombs and over 600 attack drones were used, Reuters reported.
Ukrainian air defenses downed 60 out of 94 drones launched by Russia overnight, the air force said on Sunday. It said that 34 drones were "lost,” in reference to Ukraine's use of electronic warfare to redirect Russian drones.
"Every week, the Russian war continues only because the Russian army retains its ability to terrorize Ukraine and exploit its superiority in the sky," Zelenskiy said on the Telegram messaging app.
He called on Ukraine's allies to fulfil agreements already made.
"The decisions made at the NATO summit in Washington, as well as those adopted during the Ramstein meetings regarding air defenses for Ukraine, have still not been fully implemented," Zelenskiy said.
Ukraine's leader this week said he had discussed with partners and the United States the possibility of granting Ukraine licenses to produce air defense systems and missiles.



Philippines Files Protest over Beijing’s ‘Escalatory Actions’ in South China Sea

This handout photo taken on January 11, 2025 and released on January 12 by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) shows a Chinese Coast Guard ship sailing some 60 nautical miles (111 kilometers, 69 miles) west of the main Philippine island of Luzon while being monitored by Philipine Coast Guard ship BRP Teresa Magbanua (not pictured). (Handout / Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) / AFP)
This handout photo taken on January 11, 2025 and released on January 12 by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) shows a Chinese Coast Guard ship sailing some 60 nautical miles (111 kilometers, 69 miles) west of the main Philippine island of Luzon while being monitored by Philipine Coast Guard ship BRP Teresa Magbanua (not pictured). (Handout / Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) / AFP)
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Philippines Files Protest over Beijing’s ‘Escalatory Actions’ in South China Sea

This handout photo taken on January 11, 2025 and released on January 12 by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) shows a Chinese Coast Guard ship sailing some 60 nautical miles (111 kilometers, 69 miles) west of the main Philippine island of Luzon while being monitored by Philipine Coast Guard ship BRP Teresa Magbanua (not pictured). (Handout / Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) / AFP)
This handout photo taken on January 11, 2025 and released on January 12 by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) shows a Chinese Coast Guard ship sailing some 60 nautical miles (111 kilometers, 69 miles) west of the main Philippine island of Luzon while being monitored by Philipine Coast Guard ship BRP Teresa Magbanua (not pictured). (Handout / Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) / AFP)

The Philippines on Monday called on Beijing to desist from "escalatory actions" at a South China Sea shoal and said a protest has been lodged over the presence of Chinese coast guard, militia and navy in its exclusive economic zone.

The protest stems from the presence of two coast guard vessels on Jan. 5 and Jan. 10 in and around the disputed Scarborough shoal, one of which was a 165 m (541ft) long boat referred to by the Philippines as "the monster". It said a Chinese navy helicopter was also deployed in the area.

"The escalatory actions of these Chinese vessels and aircraft disregard Philippine and international laws," said the Philippines' national maritime council, an inter-agency group tasked with upholding the country's interests at sea.

"China should direct its vessels to desist from conducting illegal actions that violate Philippines' sovereign rights in its EEZ," it said in a statement.

China's embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment. China says the Scarborough Shoal is its territory and has accused the Philippines of trespassing.

Tensions between China and the US ally the Philippines have escalated the past two years, with frequent run-ins between their coast guards in the South China Sea, which China claims sovereignty over almost in its entirety.

The statement came just hours after Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had a virtual call with US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba where the three leaders discussed China's conduct in the South China Sea.

China's expansive claims overlap with the EEZs of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. The disputed waterway is a strategic shipping route through which about $3 trillion of annual commerce moves.

A 2016 ruling of an international arbitral tribunal said Beijing's claims, based on its historic maps, have no basis under international law, a decision China does not recognize.