(Provisional translation by an external company for reference purpose only)
Based on the request from the Government of Ukraine, the Ministry of Defense (MOD) and the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) provided a total of 101 SDF vehicles to the country by last June. In addition to this, when I attended the NATO Defense Ministers’ Meeting last October, I conveyed to Defense Minister Umerov of Ukraine that Japan will provide additional SDF vehicles. Afterwards, we examined the types and numbers of vehicle that could be provided, and we have now decided to provide approximately 30 additional vehicles, including half-ton trucks and high mobility vehicles. As the first shipment of the additional provision, we sent a total of six half-ton trucks to Ukraine on February 2, the day before yesterday. The SDF vehicles provided by the MOD have been welcomed by Ukraine and NATO countries, and we hope they will be of help to Ukraine.