Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday that Japan is willing to lend Ukraine at least $100 million in emergency loans, according to a summary of their phone conversation released by the Japanese government.
The offer comes as Russia allots more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine’s border, stoking fears of war and putting a pall over the country’s economy. Moscow denies invading Ukraine and accuses the West of being hysterical. According to the written account of the two leaders’ conversation, Zelenskiy expressed gratitude for the offer.
Ukraine, on the other hand, announced on Tuesday that its joint diplomatic efforts with Western allies had succeeded in averting a feared Russian invasion. “We and our allies have managed to keep Russia from escalating further. It is already the middle of February, and you see that diplomacy is continuing to work,” Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told reporters. The US has encouraged its citizens to leave Belarus immediately, citing a buildup of Russian forces near the country’s border with Ukraine. The travel warning was issued on the same day that the US announced it was closing its embassy in Kyiv and shifting its employees to Lviv, Ukraine, 335 miles (540 kilometres) away, because of a “dramatic acceleration” in Russian forces’ buildup.
Meanwhile, Britain warned on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin still has time to take a step back and withdraw soldiers massed on Ukraine’s border. “We could be on the verge of a conflict in Europe,” Foreign Minister Liz Truss told Sky News, “which would have grave ramifications not only for the people of Russia and Ukraine but also for Europe’s broader security.” “Vladimir Putin still has time to back away from the cliff. But he only has a limited amount of time to do so,” she added, implying that an invasion could be “imminent.” “..
The Indian Embassy in Ukraine had already requested its citizens, notably students, to leave the country temporarily due to rising tensions between the two countries.
