ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Japan pledges $4.5B more in aid for Ukraine, including $1B in humanitarian funds

Share
TOKYO -

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged $4.5 billion to Ukraine, including $1 billion in humanitarian aid to help support the war-torn country's recovery effort in an online summit of leading industrial nations.

Kishida made the announcement late Wednesday in Tokyo while hosting his last Group of Seven summit as this year's chairperson.

The $1 billion humanitarian and recovery aid includes funding for generators and other power supplies for the Ukrainian people to survive the winter, as well as measures to clear mines planted by Russia, the Foreign Ministry said. The remaining $3.5 billion includes funding for credit guarantees for World Bank loans to Ukraine.

"This is significant support for the recovery of Ukraine and our economy, said Japan stands firmly with Ukraine and our people," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his message posted on X, formerly Twitter, "We will keep working together to bring our common victory closer."

Japan has donated more than $7 billion to Ukraine since the war started, mostly for humanitarian assistance, and military equipment limited to non-lethal weapons because of legal limitations under its pacifist constitution.

But on Thursday, Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky said his country and Japan are discussing a possible Japanese provision of anti-missile defence and anti-drone equipment.

"It's not a lethal weapon. Actually, it's a humanitarian assistance," he said at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo. "Because when you have Iranian drones flying over you, and they are very difficult to detect ... but if you protect yourself from those drones, this is not a lethal weapon."

Seiji Kihara, acting secretary general of Kishida's governing party, said Japan has pacifist policies but the country will continue a dialogue on providing the most helpful support for Ukraine by using Japan's expertise, including mine clearing.

U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, citing Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, praised Japan's additional supply of generators to help people survive the severe winter weather.

Japan is discussing easing of its weapons export restrictions to allow equipment co-developed by other countries, to be provided to Ukraine. Japan seeks to bolster its defence industry amid growing threats from China, North Korea and Russia, while expanding support for countries under invasion, like Ukraine.

The G7 members agreed to impose new sanctions on Russia, including banning the country's diamonds. The G7 leaders, in their joint statement, said they will introduce import restrictions on nonindustrial diamonds mined, processed, or produced in Russia, followed by additional restrictions on the import of Russian diamonds processed in third countries.

The G7 is comprised of the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the European Union.

CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.

BREAKING

BREAKING

The New Brunswick RCMP has issued an alert as officers search for an armed teenager in the Moncton and Shediac areas.

An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.

Local Spotlight

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.

Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.