Ukraine Holds a Security Aid Meeting with Japan’s Ambassador Ahead of Winter

Japan’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Ukraine, Masashi Nakagome, met with multiple senior Ukrainian authorities this week as his diplomatic mission came to a close. Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivsky met with Nakagome on Thursday, Aug. 13, thanking him for years of joint projects with the Ministry of Internal Affairs. According to Vyhivsky’s statement, the two discussed further cooperation on broader security and emergency response equipment, as Japan weighs joining the Drone Deal initiative.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “Japan remains one of the key partners of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine,” Vyhivsky said, adding that “we are counting on strengthening our cooperation further.” Police and emergency equipment donations Under the Interior Ministry’s cooperation with Japan, Tokyo supplied Ukraine with technical equipment for border control, forensic laboratories, and specialized tools for humanitarian demining operations. According to Vyhivsky, Japan also funded vehicles for Ukraine’s “Barrier-Free Driving Schools” – a program that provides people with disabilities, including former soldiers that lost limbs or civilians wounded by Russia’s aggression, access to driver’s education and retraining on hand-controlled vehicles. “There have also been training sessions that allowed our specialists to learn from the experience of other countries,” Vyhivsky said. Other Topics of Interest Rozetka Co-Owner Estimates Destroyed Warehouse Losses at $70M, Contents Not Included Iryna Chechotkina, co-founder of Rozetka, said insurance companies were unable to cover such losses and asked the Verkhovna Rada for tax deferrals. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) separately handed over vehicles for public danger alerts, mobile workshops and remote explosive-detection systems to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service (SES). Drone Deal and energy security on the table The Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council Ihor Klymenko held a separate meeting with Nakagome on Thursday, in which they discussed Japan’s possible participation in the Drone Deal initiative. The talks also covered cooperation in unmanned and remote technologies, as well as energy security and Ukraine’s infrastructure reconstruction. “Ukraine has unique experience and technological solutions in this field, which open up new opportunities for partnership,” Klymenko said, according to UNN-Ukraine. The security meetings came as Ukraine increasingly prepares both its residents and infrastructure for winter, with Russia widely expected to target Ukraine’s power grid. Recently, authorities have suggested that Russia may switch up their winter campaign of striking Ukraine’s power grid, to instead targeting water supplies. “Much attention during the meeting was devoted to energy security,” Klymenko said, adding that “Russia continues to strike our energy infrastructure, so Japan’s assistance is especially important.” “We are also counting on receiving the necessary equipment as scheduled,” he continued. On July 15, Ukraine and the EU officially signed a Drone Deal aimed at strengthening European security and boosting investment in Ukraine’s defense industry, reinforcing Ukraine’s growing role as a supplier of security for Europe. Winter heating plans Minister for Recovery, Infrastructure and Transport, Mykola Kalashnyk, met Nakagome on Tuesday, Aug. 11. to discuss critical infrastructure restoration and preparations for the upcoming heating season. According to the ministry’s website, priorities include deploying modular boiler houses in Lviv, Kyiv, and Kherson regions with a combined capacity exceeding 400 megawatts (MW), along with building a reserve of water and wastewater equipment for winter operations. “It is difficult to survive for more than three days without water and sewage,” said Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal on Aug. 4, adding that Russia has damaged or destroyed more than 80% of Ukraine’s electricity generation capacity since launching its full-scale invasion. Nakagome arrived in Kyiv as Japan’s newly appointed ambassador to Ukraine in October 2024. “Ukraine today may be East Asia tomorrow,” he said in his official statement, adding that Japan strongly supports Ukraine, and will continue to do so, aiming to “achieve a just and lasting peace as soon as possible.” Ukraine-Japan cooperation continues as Russia’s President Vladimir Putin concludes his first visit to Kuril Islands on Thursday, drawing fresh attention to the decades-old territorial dispute with Japan. Years of cooperation between Japan and Ukraine Cooperation between Ukraine and Japan currently runs through the fifth phase of the Emergency Recovery Programme – which has a budget of roughly $38.5 million and covers infrastructure, water systems, the maritime sector, healthcare, and agriculture.In April, Ukraine has received a $1.3 billion grant from Japan – the country’s second such disbursement funded by profits from frozen Russian assets under the G7’s Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) initiative. On May 30, Japan has added $14.7 million to NATO’s Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative to fund non-lethal equipment for Ukraine.According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, PURL contributions have reached about $1.5 billion this year, with 28 countries participating so far. Broader winter preparations Estonia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Wednesday, Aug. 12, that it will provide €340,000 ($392,000) to help Ukraine prepare for the upcoming winter, with the funds directed particularly toward frontline areas. On Monday, Aug. 10, Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi chaired a meeting of the Energy Headquarters, reviewing forecasted electricity and gas balances alongside top diplomats. Meanwhile, Ukraine continues to rely on foreign partners for the delivery of Patriot interceptors to defend its skies against Russian ballistic missiles, as the country faces critical shortages. Separately on Wednesday, Kyiv authorities began compiling lists of residents who may need temporary relocation if Russian strikes cause prolonged heating outages this winter.