TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio condemned on Monday a reported attack by the Russian military on a research facility handling nuclear materials in Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine, on Sunday.

“I am deeply concerned” about the attack, Kishida said at a meeting of the Budget Committee of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet, Japan’s parliament.

“Such Russian aggression is an act that shakes the very foundations of the international order and is a clear violation of international law,” he said.

Regarding the relationship between Russia and China, Kishida said that in recent years, the two countries have maintained close relations and that their military cooperation around Japan has also become closer.

He said, “We will continue to closely monitor the situation in the two countries, including their foreign policies, and respond appropriately while cooperating with the United States and other countries concerned.”

Also at the meeting, Kishida said that “the international community is united and taking unprecedented measures to support Ukraine.”

“We will continue to provide assistance to Ukraine,” the prime minister said of his government’s plan to offer defense items, such as bulletproof vests and helmets, and 100 million dollars in emergency humanitarian aid to the country being invaded by Russia.

Kishida said, “We will deliver necessary supplies as soon as possible.”

The prime minister expressed his government’s intention to accept refugees from Ukraine, even if they have no relatives in Japan, from a humanitarian standpoint.

JIJI Press