Tokyo: Japan is considering closer cooperation with NATO to support Ukraine by providing essential non-lethal defence equipment, according to a report by Japan's public broadcaster NHK. Several NATO officials told NHK that Tokyo is expected to formally announce its participation in the alliance's Ukraine support framework in the near future, marking another step in Japan's growing security engagement with Europe.
The move comes amid continued international efforts to sustain Ukraine's defence against Russia, more than three years after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. The war itself has its roots in long-standing tensions between the two countries, dating back to Ukraine's independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Relations deteriorated sharply after Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its backing of separatists in eastern Ukraine. These events culminated in the 2022 invasion, which Russia described as a "special military operation" but which Ukraine and its allies condemned as a violation of international law. (ANI)
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