President Volodymyr Zelenskyi signed a decree recognizing Japanʼs sovereignty over its Northern territories controlled by Russia.
He stated this in a video message.
"Ukraine confirmed its respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Japan, including its Northern territories, which are still under Russian occupation. Today I signed the relevant decree. There is a corresponding statement of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. And we call on everyone in the world to make similar decisions," Zelenskyy said.
The president added that with this war against Ukraine and against the international legal order, Russia has placed itself in conditions under which the real liberation of everything that was once captured and is currently under the control of the Kremlin is now only a matter of time.
The Northern Territories of Japan refer to the southern part of the Kuril Islands, an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean that stretches from the southern tip of Kamchatka to the Japanese island of Hokkaido. Japan considers the islands to be its territory, captured by the USSR in World War II, and includes the islands in the Nemuro District of Hokkaido Prefecture.