Ukraine Declares It Recognizes Japan’s Claim to ‘Russian-Occupied’ Kuril Islands

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 15, 2022. Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP

Ukraine’s government has declared its support for Japan regarding its claim to the disputed Kuril Islands, which have been under Russian control since 1945.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree recognizing Japan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, including the Kuril Islands, following a debate in the Ukrainian parliament on Oct. 7.

“Ukraine confirmed its respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Japan, including its Northern territories, which are still under Russian occupation,” Zelenskyy said in a statement.

He called on the international community to recognize Japan’s claims and emphasized the need to “de-occupy” all disputed lands that Russia has claimed and is trying to keep.

“Russia has no right to these territories. Everyone in the world knows this well. And we must finally act,” Zelenskyy remarked. “Only in this way can we return the full force to international law.”

His remarks came after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed laws annexing four Ukrainian regions—Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson—as a result of a referendum that Ukraine and the West deemed to be a “sham.”

Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian forces liberated 776 square kilometers (299 square miles) of territory in the east and 29 settlements from the Russian “pseudo-referendum” this week, including six in the Luhansk region.

“Russia, by its example, will show all potential aggressors of the world that an aggressive terrorist war in our time is a way to weaken and inevitably destroy the one who starts such a war,” he said.

Kuril Islands Dispute

The Kuril Islands, known as the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kurils in Russia, consist of four islands: Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan, and Habomai. The former Soviet Union seized them at the end of World War II.

Japan claimed that the islands “have never been held by foreign countries” and that they have been under illegal occupation by Russia, and the former Soviet Union before that, since 1945.

The two countries never formally signed a peace treaty due to the dispute. Japan initiated peace talks with Russia, but they were later terminated by the Kremlin after Japan imposed a slew of sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine war.

The Russian foreign ministry said that it would be “impossible to discuss this fundamental document on bilateral relations with a state that holds an explicitly unfriendly position and seeks to harm the interests” of Russia.

Aside from the suspension of peace treaty talks, Russia has also suspended visa-free travel for Japanese citizens and withdrawn from talks with Japan on expanding economic activities.