The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Tuesday the flight of two strategic bombers over the Sea of Japan for more than 7 hours, with the arrival of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Ukraine on a “historical visit” that Ukraine praise.
The Russian ministry said in a statement, which was accompanied by a video documenting part of the flight, that “two long-range strategic missile carriers (Tu-95MS) carried out a planned flight in airspace over the neutral waters of the Russian Sea.” . Japan”, according to the “Russia Today” channel.
He indicated that the flight lasted 7 hours and noted that the two aircraft were escorted by “SU-30 and SU-35 fighters from the Air Force in the Eastern Military District,” noting that “all flights of Russian Air Force aircraft They are carried out in accordance with international regulations for the use of airspace.
Moscow regularly flies Tu-95MS jets, which are capable of carrying nuclear weapons, over international waters in the Arctic, North Atlantic and Pacific oceans in a show of force.
Kishida arrives in kyiv
The latest flight came hours before Kishida was due to arrive in kyiv to express his solidarity with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the war against Russia.
Hours after announcing the flight of the two fighters, Kishida arrived in Kiev, and Japanese public television said he was “seen getting off a train at a station in central Kiev” where he will meet the Ukrainian president.
Japan’s Foreign Ministry said Kishida “will convey to President Zelensky his respect for the courage and perseverance of the Ukrainian people defending their homeland under his leadership, and will also express solidarity and continued support for Ukraine by Japan and the Group of the Seven”, whose meetings Japan is hosting this year.
For its part, Ukraine on Tuesday praised the “historical visit” as a show of “solidarity” by Tokyo, more than a year after the Russian invasion of the country.
“This historic visit demonstrates strong solidarity and cooperation between Ukraine and Japan. We are grateful to Japan for its strong support and contribution to our coming victory,” Ukraine’s First Deputy Foreign Minister Amina Jabbar wrote on Twitter.
The last leader of the Group of Seven.
Kishida is the only one among the other G7 leaders who has not visited Ukraine since the Russian invasion of the country began in February 2022, despite constant calls.
According to the Japanese television network “NHK”, its correspondents in Poland filmed Kishida at dawn on Tuesday when he arrived by car in Bsemish, a city from which foreign officials used to board a train to go to Ukraine.
The network said: “The motorcade entered Bsemish station and stopped in front of a platform used by international trains heading to Ukraine. Prime Minister Kishida stepped out of the first car of the procession and got on the last car of the train “.
According to the chain, the train left the station at 01:30 this Tuesday (00:30 GMT).
Kishida has previously said repeatedly that the visit to Kiev is a matter “under study,” while Japanese media quoted government sources as saying the prime minister’s visit to Kiev would be free of security concerns and logistical challenges.
With his arrival in Ukraine, Kishida becomes the first Japanese prime minister to visit a war zone since the end of World War II.
Kishida’s visit to kyiv comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping visits Moscow, where he met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday.
