Russia “Japan is a key ally of the US” and attacked Ukraine following insisting on a “peaceful solution”
On the 22nd, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visits Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, where a fierce battle is going on with Russia, and takes a picture with his soldiers holding a military flag. Bahmut = AP Newsis
Russian President Vladimir Putin is stepping up an armed offensive following a summit meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. It deployed missiles in the Kuril Islands, which are under effective territorial dispute with Japan, and bombed Ukraine. The US countered that if China provides arms to Russia, it will discuss countermeasures with its alliance.
According to the Sputnik news agency, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced on the 22nd that it had deployed the ‘Bastion’ coastal defense missile system on the island of Paramusir in the Kuril Islands. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said, “The United States has increased its military capabilities in the Asia-Pacific to keep Russia and China in check. Japan is a key US ally in the region,” he said, not hiding his intention to keep the US and Japan in check at the same time. The Eastern Military District, which has jurisdiction over the Far East, including the Kuril Islands, has expanded 400 modern equipment, including SU-57 fighter jets and anti-aircraft missiles, over the past year, confidently saying, “The military power of the Eastern Military District has been strengthened.”
On the 21st, when President Putin held a summit meeting with President Xi in Moscow, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was the last of the leaders of the seven major countries (G7) to visit the capital of Ukraine, Kiiu. In a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, he criticized Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as “an act that shakes the very foundations of the international order.” In May, he invited President Zelensky to the G7 summit held in Hiroshima, his constituency, and decided to provide 500 million dollars (regarding 650 billion won) to Ukraine. The deployment of missiles in the Kuril Islands is interpreted as having a strong tendency to check Japan, which is in close contact with Ukraine.
On the 22nd, a day following President Putin and President Xi insisted on a ‘peaceful solution’ to the Ukraine crisis, Russian forces bombed various parts of Ukraine, drawing criticism. According to AFP, etc., a high school in Rzhishiu, a small town near Kiiu, was attacked by a Russian drone that day. School buildings and dormitories collapsed, killing at least eight people. A few hours later, a missile also struck southeast Zaporizhia, killing at least one person. President Zelensky criticized, “Every time the word ‘peace’ is mentioned in Moscow, an attack order is given.”
US Secretary of State Tony Blincoln appeared before the Senate that day and said, “We are preparing with our allies for the possibility that China will provide arms to Russia.” When asked by lawmakers, “Do you have plans to sanction China for its support of Russia along with South Korea, Japan, Europe, and Australia?” “All of these countries (concerned regarding this) independently contacted China’s senior leadership,” he explained.
Reporter Dabin Yoon empty@donga.com
