Defense & Security

U.S. Welcomes PM Kishida’s Visit to Ukraine

Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and Emine Dzhaparova, first deputy foreign minister of Ukraine, shake hands at a railway station in Kyiv on Tuesday.

By Hiroshi Tajima / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

15:54 JST, March 22, 2023

WASHINGTON— U.S. government officials have expressed appreciation for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s surprise visit to Ukraine on Tuesday.

Kishida’s visit to Ukraine is “another example of just how strongly Japan is standing up with the rest of the international community to support Ukraine,” National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said at a press conference Tuesday.

At a press briefing on the same day, Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said, “I do think it is significant and we do continue to appreciate Japan and other countries’ support for Ukraine, when it comes to securing an international rules-based order.”