Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a new long-term bilateral security agreement on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Italy on Thursday, formalizing Tokyo’s support for Kyiv and pledging to conduct consultations in the case of future attacks on the war-torn country.
More than 27 months since Russia invaded Ukraine, the new nonbinding agreement, valid for 10 years, covers a number of areas — from defense to the treatment of injured Ukrainian service members.
“This accord shows that Russian aggression against Ukraine is not just a European concern, but rather a concern for the entire international community,” Kishida said after signing the agreement, noting that Japan was the first country outside of NATO to take this step.