Japan to send non-lethal defensive equipment to Ukraine

ANKARA

Japan will send non-lethal defensive equipment to Ukrainian armed forces "to demonstrate our feelings of strong solidarity with Ukraine" amid the war with Russia, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Friday.

"Japan is now working out a way to provide bulletproof vests, helmets, etc. We aim to deliver these necessary supplies at the earliest possible time," he said on Twitter.

"Japan stands together with the citizens of Ukraine who are doing their utmost in taking actions to defend their sovereignty and territory, as well as their homeland and their families."

Kishida spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over phone and also condemned the “recent assault” on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine, which the West has blamed on Russia.

Moscow, however, said a Ukrainian sabotage group set fire to the training complex while escaping, but the blaze was quickly extinguished by firefighters. Russia had earlier taken control of the nuclear power plant, which is Europe's largest.

Japan has also joined its Western allies in imposing financial sanctions on Moscow over the attack it launched on Feb. 24.

The measures include restrictions on transactions with Russia's central bank and freezing of assets of seven Russian banks, according to the premier's office.

Tokyo has also allowed visa extensions to Ukrainians in Japan, and is also taking steps to accept evacuees from Ukraine.

More than 1.2 million people have so far fled Ukraine to neighboring countries, according to the UN Refugee Agency.