In a ceremony at the Defense Ministry at which two half-ton trucks were on display, Japanese Vice Defense Minister Toshiro Ino handed a document to Ukrainian Ambassador Sergiy Korsunsky listing the three types of vehicles included in the donation, ABC News reported.
The donation, which also includes 30,000 food rations, comes as Japan’s government is seeking to ease its military equipment transfer policy under a new national security policy that allows its military a greater offensive role, in a major break from its post-World War II self-defense-only principle.
While other countries have provided Ukraine with tanks, missiles and fighter jets, Japan has limited its donations to non-lethal equipment because the transfer policy prohibits the provision of lethal weapons to countries at war.
Japan has provided Ukraine with bulletproof vests, helmets, gas masks, hazmat suits, small drones and food rations since last year that Russia attacked Ukraine.
Tokyo has joined the United States and European nations in sanctioning Russia as well and in providing humanitarian and economic support for Ukraine.
Western countries have been supplying military aid to Ukraine since the start of the war in February 2022. The aid evolved from artillery munitions and training in 2022 to heavier weapons, including tanks, later that year and in 2023.
The Kremlin, in turn, has repeatedly warned against continued arms deliveries to Kyiv. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said any cargo that contains weapons for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russia.
SKH/PR
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