Today, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine hosted a meeting between Minister Ihor Klymenko and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Ukraine Matsuda Kuninori.

At the beginning of the meeting, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Ukraine Matsuda Kuninori conveyed to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine a message on future cooperation between the agencies from the Chair of the National Public Safety Commission and the Commissioner General of the National Police Agency of Japan. 

"Allow me to express my respect and gratitude to all representatives of your Ministry for the efforts you are making to maintain security and law and order. And especially taking into account the recent intensified missile attacks, which are unjustified, by the aggressor. We understand that you have to take more serious and active steps in this direction," said Matsuda Kuninori. 

In his turn, Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko thanked his Japanese colleagues for their comprehensive support of Ukraine against the backdrop of russia's full-scale invasion and stressed that without the support of the G7 member states and Japan itself, it would be much more difficult for our country to repel the aggressor. In addition, the Minister informed Matsuda Kuninori about the latest attacks by the russian army. 

"The number of attacks on civilian infrastructure has increased in recent weeks. In general, the number of attacks on Ukraine has doubled. Yesterday, on 3 May, more than 20 people were killed and more than 40 injured in Kherson. Last night, Ukrainians also heard the work of air defence, including in the capital," said Ihor Klymenko.

He stressed that the support of the international community provided Ukraine with strength and inspiration to fight the enemy: "This meeting demonstrates trust in our institutions, in particular the Ministry of Internal Affairs. We will do our best to stop the enemy together and maintain the trust that we enjoy today."

The parties then discussed ways to support Ukraine, in particular in the area of humanitarian demining in Ukraine. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan Matsuda Kuninori said that last week, Tokyo had handed over the necessary equipment to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine for demining the de-occupied territories.

"This is our principled position and policy on humanitarian demining. This is a top priority not only for this year and next year, but for many years to come. We are ready to work with you in this direction. For our part, we are well aware that it will take a long time to demine the territory of Ukraine, and we offer our support," assured Matsuda Kuninori.