Japan has provided Ukraine with bulletproof vests, helmets, gas masks, hazmat suits, small drones and food rations since Russia’s invasion began last year.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged the trucks to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy when they met in Hiroshima on Sunday on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit. Japan has also offered to treat injured Ukrainian soldiers at a Japanese military hospital.
The vehicles consist of half-ton trucks, high mobility vehicles and material handling vehicles, the government said. The Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency said the details, including the exact number of vehicles and timing of their shipment, are being finalized.
Tokyo has joined the United States and European nations in sanctioning Russia over its invasion and in providing humanitarian and economic support for Ukraine.
Japan was quick to react because of fears of a possible impact from the war on East Asia, where China’s military has grown increasingly assertive and has escalated tensions around self-governed Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory.
Japan has contributed more than US$7 billion to Ukraine. It has also accepted more than 2,000 displaced Ukrainians and helped them with housing and support for jobs and education, a rare move in a country known for its strict immigration policy.