Russia warned Japan on Friday that the decision to supply military equipment to the Ukrainian armed forces will lead to an escalation of the conflict and seriously jeopardize relations between the two countries.
With this decision, Tokyo is pushing bilateral relations even further down a dangerous dead end. Such actions cannot be without serious consequences,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.
Russia’s position was formally communicated to Japan’s ambassador in Moscow, Toyohisa Kozuki, who was summoned to the Foreign Ministry for this purpose, the official Russian agency TASS reported.
Japan decided in May to deliver about 100 military vehicles and other non-lethal equipment to Ukraine, including 30,000 rations, as the Tokyo government seeks to relax military equipment transfer policies.
The change in national security policy aims to allow the Japanese armed forces a more offensive role, in a major break with the principle of self-defense that was in effect after World War II (1939-1945).
“It has been understood from the Japanese side that this measure will lead to an escalation of hostilities and a further increase in the number of human casualties suffered by the Kiev regime,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation said.
There will also be casualties “in the Russian border regions due to the criminal actions of Ukrainian terrorists who actively use military equipment delivered to Kiev,” the ministry said.
The Japanese diplomat was received by Deputy Minister Andrey Rudenko, one of the assistants to the head of Russian diplomacy Serguei Lavrov.
Japan currently chairs the group of the seven most industrialized democracies, the G7, whose leaders reaffirmed their support for Ukraine in the war started by Russia on February 24, 2022 at the Hiroshima summit in May.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attended the Hiroshima Summit.
In addition to Japan, the G7 also includes Germany, Canada, the United States, France, Italy and the United Kingdom. The European Union (EU) also participates in the group.
Ukraine’s Western allies have supplied Ukraine with weapons to fight Russian forces. In addition, they imposed economic sanctions on Russia, including in the energy sector, to reduce Moscow’s ability to fund Ukraine’s war effort.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine sparked an armed conflict that plunged Europe into what is considered the worst security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
The number of civilian and military casualties in more than 15 months of fighting is not known, but several sources, including the UN, have warned that the number will be significantly high.
Source: DN
