In his speech on Tuesday evening, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi talked about the visit of the Prime Minister of Japan to Kyiv and emphasized that it is all the more significant that it took place on the day when Ukraine celebrates the year of the first victory over the Russian occupation forces, and Japan, which presides over the G7, wants to help and mobilize the world to defend the existing “international order”.

“Today, the guest of our country, the Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, began his visit to Ukraine with a visit to Bucea. To honor the memory of all those whose lives were taken by Russian terror. Mr. Kishida visited the Wall of Memory in Kyiv, near St. Michael’s Cathedral, and honored our soldiers who died for Ukraine. And it is very important when world leaders show courage by visiting Ukraine, despite all the risks, and show respect – respect for our people who fight not only for their country, for the independence of Ukraine, but also for the preservation and functioning of the rules of civilization and civilized life in the world,” emphasized Volodymyr Zelenskyi.

“Our discussions with Mr. Kishida were very productive. It should be taken into account that this visit is taking place during the period of Japan’s presidency of the G7 – Group of the seven most powerful democratic states. So, given Japan’s strength, its leadership position in Asia in upholding peace and the rules-based international order, and Japan’s responsibility as the chair of the G7, our discussions today can indeed have a global impact,” he said. President of Ukraine.

“We discussed security, political, sanctions, economic and humanitarian issues. Japan is ready to join our reconstruction, to be a leader in these economic and infrastructural processes,” Zelenskyy detailed.

“But today we also heard a very specific desire of Japan to work together with us to even more actively mobilize the world for international order, protection against aggression, against Russian terror. Thank you, Japan!”, the Kyiv leader sent.

An unprecedented visit by the Prime Minister of Japan

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyi in Kyiv on Tuesday during a rare visit to the war zone by the leader of Japan, a country with a post-World War II pacifist doctrine. However, the Japanese Prime Minister was the only G7 leader who had not yet visited Ukraine. Kishida visited the town of Bucha for the first time, where the mayor said that Russian troops killed more than 400 civilians last year and which became a symbol of the brutality of Russian aggression against Ukraine. Kishida laid a wreath in front of the church in Buchi, observed a moment of silence and bowed. “The world was stunned to see innocent civilians killed in Buchi a year ago. I really feel a lot of anger because of this cruelty, visiting this very place, here,” Kishida said.

Kishida’s visit to Ukraine coincided with Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s state visit to Russia, and in response to Kishida’s gesture, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that two of its strategic bombers flew over the Sea of ​​Japan. Japan has had its own territorial dispute with Moscow since the end of World War II. The Russian invasion also raised concerns in Tokyo and among the Japanese public about what would happen to Japan if China invaded Taiwan. Encouraged by the United States, Japan in December announced its largest military buildup since World War II, pledging to double defense spending within five years.

Kishida will also meet his Polish counterpart before returning to Japan on Thursday. Before leaving for Poland, en route to Ukraine, Kishida visited India, where he met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, another leader the West and Russia are trying to woo.

Zelensky: “Ukraine began to celebrate the first anniversary of the first victorious battles of the war”

In his speech on Tuesday evening, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wanted to emphasize the experience that Ukraine has already gained with the help of Western partners after a year of war, and once again sent his compatriots a message of confidence that Ukrainians – who are preparing a counteroffensive – will eventually be able to emerge victorious.

“How can we resist Russian terror and how to do it successfully? The best confirmation of this is our experience, the experience that Ukrainians have already gained in expelling the Russian occupiers, thanks to the courage of our fighters, thanks to the support of our partners, who will never put up with Russia’s desire to violate the international legal order. Zelenskyy said.

He recalled an important moment in the war, pointing out that Ukraine began to celebrate on Tuesday the first anniversary of the first victorious battles after the invasion – battles in the north of the country a year ago, when Kyiv’s troops first managed to knock out the Russian invaders. “On March 21 last year, on March 21, the battle near Moschun, a small village in the Kyiv region, ended, and it was the first important step of our country towards victory in this war,” Zelenskyy said. “There were other such steps – the battle of Gostomel, the battle of Irpin, battles in the Chernihiv and Sumy regions, the battle of Zmiin, the fierce confrontation in the south of Ukraine, and our unique defensive operation that returned the freedom of the people. Kharkiv region,” Zelenskyy recalled.

“Today we honored the heroes of the battle for Moschun – for Kyiv – exactly where a memorial will be erected in honor of our soldiers and ordinary residents of Moschun, whose lives were taken by this cruel war,” Zelenskyi said. .

Zelensky: “The migration of the most cautious rats of the terrorist state has already begun in Crimea”

“Our confidence in the victory of Ukraine, our vision of a free future for our country, Ukrainian heroism that impressed the world – all this was born there, in the hero cities of Northern Ukraine, Eastern Ukraine and Southern Ukraine, in the cities of heroes whose character was not for a second submitted to the occupier even when the occupier came to their homes,” the president said before sending a message of confidence and encouragement to those on the front lines.

“We will achieve the same result in other actions. In the heroic battle for Donbas, where the Ukrainian flag will inevitably dominate, in the further confrontation in the south, which will restore normal Ukrainian life in the Azov region, in the return of our Crimea, from where the majority of the country’s cautious rats have migrated, they have already started to become terrorists,” Zelenskyy said.

Speaking about the situation at the front, the president noted that the supply of ammunition and the support of partners are important. “We expect an increase in supplies of exactly what we need now,” Zelenskyy said.

The call for unity was not absent in his daily message: “Together we return Ukraine to Ukraine. Together we protect our future, our dignity, our freedom and our history,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed his compatriots.

___

• Follow the latest events of the war in Ukraine LIVETEXT on HotNews.ro