“WWith this decision, Tokyo plunges bilateral relations even deeper into a dangerous impasse. Such actions cannot remain without serious consequences,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Russia’s position has been formally communicated to Japan’s Ambassador to Moscow, Toyohisa Kozuki, who has been summoned to the Foreign Ministry for this purpose, Russia’s official TASS news agency reported.

Japan decided in May to deliver about 100 military vehicles and other non-lethal equipment to Ukraine, including 30,000 rations, as the Tokyo government seeks to ease the policy of transferring military equipment.

The evolution of the national security policy aims to give the Japanese armed forces a more offensive role, in major rupture with the principle of self-defense which was in force after the Second World War (1939-1945).

“The Japanese side has been informed that this measure will lead to an escalation of hostilities and a further increase in the number of human casualties of the Kiev regime,” the Russian Federation Foreign Ministry said.

There will also be victims “in the border regions of Russia as a result of the criminal actions of Ukrainian terrorists who actively use military equipment supplied to Kyiv”, the ministry said.

The Japanese diplomat was received by Deputy Minister Andrey Rudenko, one of the assistants of the head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov.

Japan currently chairs the group of seven most industrialized democracies, the G7, whose leaders reaffirmed, at the Hiroshima summit in May, support for Ukraine in the war launched by Russia on February 24, 2022.

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, participated in the Hiroshima summit.

In addition to Japan, the G7 includes Germany, Canada, the United States, France, Italy and the United Kingdom. The European Union (EU) also participates in the group.

Ukraine’s Western allies have supplied Ukraine with weapons to fight Russian forces.

In addition, they imposed economic sanctions on Russia, including in the energy sector, to reduce Moscow’s ability to finance the war effort in Ukraine.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine triggered an armed conflict that plunged Europe into what is considered the worst security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).

Civilian and military casualties in more than 15 months of fighting are unknown, but multiple sources, including the UN, have warned they will be significantly high.

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