Russia Warns: Japan-Ukraine Drone Cooperation Equals Assisting in Killing Russian Citizens

Andrei Rudenko, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, stated in an interview that Japan's cooperation with Ukraine on drones is equivalent to 'helping kill Russian citizens.'

'We are closely monitoring the situation where Japanese drone manufacturers are collaborating with Ukrainian developers of combat drones,' Rudenko said. 'Given Ukraine's frequent use of drones to carry out terrorist attacks on civilian targets in Russia, we view this cooperation between Japan and the Kyiv regime as open hostility: Ukrainian drones are killing Russian citizens, and Tokyo is enabling this behavior.'

According to Russia's TASS news agency on the 19th (Sunday), Japanese and Ukrainian foreign ministers held talks in Tokyo in early July, placing drone cooperation at the core of their agenda. Japan plans to establish a domestic production line to mass-produce Ukrainian-model military attack drones.

Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Russia-Japan relations have deteriorated to their lowest point since the end of the Cold War. Rudenko stated that Tokyo is pursuing a hostile policy toward Moscow, and that bilateral relations continue to worsen. He called on Japan to abandon this hostile approach entirely and demonstrate sincerity through concrete actions if it wishes to restore dialogue.

On July 1, Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, criticized Japan's deployment of U.S. intermediate- and short-range missile defense systems during a regular press briefing, stating that Japan is severely undermining stability and security in the Asia-Pacific region.

Zakharova said Japan's actions pose a direct threat to Russia's Far Eastern borders and that Moscow has repeatedly warned Tokyo against making such destructive decisions. Russia will strengthen cooperation with regional countries to safeguard peace in the Asia-Pacific.