Russian Embassy in Tokyo admits appearance of Japanese missiles in Ukraine

The missiles for Patriot air defense systems, which Japan has transferred to the United States, may end up in the Ukrainian conflict zone, the Russian Embassy in Tokyo has told Izvestiya.

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"Here especially do not hide that the main purpose of this arrangement is to replenish the American arsenals, reduced due to the transfer of weapons to the Kiev regime. It is not ruled out that it is these munitions that will eventually find their way to Ukraine," the diplomatic mission said.

This would be considered by the Russian side as a hostile act.

"For our part, we have repeatedly warned the official Japanese authorities that we consider any arms deliveries to Ukraine - no matter where they come from - as a frankly hostile act. Such steps will have an extremely negative impact on bilateral relations," the diplomats said.

Since this year, Japan has been able to sell weapons and components produced under its licenses to countries. In the case of the U.S., the condition of the contract was a ban on supplying missiles to Kiev without Tokyo's authorization.

Read more in the exclusive material of Izvestia:

A fly-by mission: Japanese missiles may end up in Ukraine via the United States