Japan’s Foreign Minister, Yoko Kamikawa, has affirmed her country’s decision to continue in its support for Ukraine.
This came as Kamikawa held a press conference with her Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba in a Kyiv bomb shelter as part of her first foreign trip of 2024.
“Japan is determined to support Ukraine so that peace can return to Ukraine,” she said, adding, “I can feel how tense the situation in Ukraine is now.”
Japan has joined Western sanctions against Russia and provided weapons to Kyiv.
She strongly condemned Russia’s missile and drone attacks, particularly on New Year’s Day.
She announced that Tokyo would “allocate $37 million to provide a drone detection system.”
Japan will also supply five generators to help Ukraine “survive” another winter during the Russian assault, she said.
As part of her visit to Ukraine, Kamikawa visited the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, where Russian forces are blamed for a 2022 massacre of civilians, saying she was “shocked” by what she saw.
She also went to Irpin, a past scene of heavy fighting.
Japan’s foreign ministry earlier said that Kamikawa would “demonstrate Japan’s determination to uphold the international order based on the ‘rule of law’ from the perspective that unilateral changes to the status quo by force, such as Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, cannot be accepted.”
Kamikawa and Kuleba also discussed Japan’s plans to host a conference to promote Ukraine’s economic reconstruction in Tokyo in February.
On his part, Kuleba expressed “solidarity” with Japan for the January 1 earthquake.
He said that Kyiv was thankful for Japan’s decision last year to provide Ukraine with F-16s jets, but said the country also needed air defence systems.
“Every day, Ukrainian cities are destroyed by Russian missiles and drones. They cannot capture us, so they are trying to destroy us,” he said.
Kuleba also said the two discussed “threats from North Korea.”
Ukraine’s Prime Minister, Denys Shmyhal also hailed a “meaningful meeting” with Kamikawa, thanking Japan for its “comprehensive support” including humanitarian and financial assistance.
In a Telegram message, he lauded Japan for its “decision to allocate $1 billion for humanitarian projects and reconstruction, with a readiness to increase this amount to $4.5 billion through the mechanisms of international institutions.”
He said that the meeting also covered the Ukrainian president’s formula for peace, the implementation of reforms, and cooperation in infrastructure.
“We continue to strengthen trade relations and ties between Ukrainian and Japanese businesses,” Shmyhal wrote on Telegram.
“We have already held meetings with two business delegations from Japan and are interested in locating production facilities of leading Japanese companies in Ukraine,” he added.
Zelenskyy Says Russia Can Be Defeated
Addressing Sweden’s annual national conference, dubbed “Society and Defense” via video link, Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, stated that Russia’s attack on Ukraine can be defeated.
“Even Russia can be brought back within the framework of international law. Its aggression can be defeated,” Zelenskiy, who said the battlefield situation remains relatively stable, told a conference in Sweden on Sunday.
“We can see that Russia’s aggressive ambitions can be thwarted if there is sufficient strength to do so. And we can only provide such strength collectively, in solidarity, by working together to strengthen each other.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Zelenskyy disclosed that Ukraine has already begun joint defense cooperation with Turkey, Romania, Poland, and the UK.
He added that Ukraine has similar agreements with Czechia, the United States, and Germany.
He stated, “Ukraine is and will be one of Europe’s most significant security donors. We aim for the best weapons and technology in the world for our own and our partners’ security.”
Additionally, Zelenskyy emphasized that joint production with Sweden is a priority for Ukraine.
“And I am certain that the day will come when we will see the opening of the first Ukrainian-Swedish joint production in Ukraine,” he added.
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