Japan to invite Ukraine to G-7 online summit, provide $5.5 billion in aid

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Monday that he would invite Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky to a Group of Seven online summit on Feb. 24, the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of the country, Kyodo News reported.

Kishida said at a meeting of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party that Japan will on Friday hold the G-7 video summit, in which the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, plus the European Union, are expected to reaffirm their unity in tackling Russia’s aggression against its neighbor.

In the run-up to the video summit, Kishida said that Japan would provide $5.5 billion in additional financial aid for the reconstruction of Ukrainian infrastructure destroyed by Russia.

The prime minister, keen to bolster Japan’s global influence in supporting Ukraine as this year’s G-7 chair, has also voiced eagerness to visit the country for talks with Zelensky if the right conditions are in place.

A Japanese government official said arranging Kishida’s trip to Ukraine might be difficult for security reasons. Ties between Tokyo and Moscow have sharply deteriorated over the past year.

Among the G-7 countries, British, Canadian, French, German, Italian and U.S. leaders have already visited Ukraine since the full-scale war began last year.