Japan PM pledges US$5.5 billion in additional Ukraine aid

JAPAN will offer Ukraine fresh financial support worth US$5.5 billion, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Monday (Feb 20), days before the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion.

“There is still a need to assist people whose livelihoods have been destroyed by the war, and to restore destroyed infrastructure,” he said in a speech at a think tank symposium in Tokyo.

“We have decided to provide additional financial support of US$5.5 billion,” Kishida said.

He said the government would seek parliament’s approval for “the amendment of relevant laws and rules” to allow the funds to be delivered.

The announcement came as US President Joe Biden, on an unannounced visit to Kyiv, promised increased arms deliveries for Ukraine.

Japan has joined Western powers in imposing sanctions on Russia and has provided humanitarian, although not military, aid to Ukraine since President Vladimir Putin’s invasion was launched on Feb 24, 2022.

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Japan holds this year’s Group of Seven presidency and Kishida also announced he will host a video conference of the bloc’s leaders with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, a year since Russia began its war. AFP