Japan to give Ukraine $5.5B, host online G-7 plus Zelenskyy

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, speaks to media at the Prime Minister's official residence Friday, July 8, 2022, in Tokyo. Japan's former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot during a campaign speech Friday in western Japan and was airlifted to a nearby hospital but he was not breathing and his heart had stopped, officials said. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has announced a new $5.5 billion financial aid for Ukraine and will mark the first anniversary of the war by hosting an online Group of Seven summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Kishida, speaking at a global forum in Tokyo organized by a Japanese think tank, said Ukraine still suffers under the Russian invasion and its people need help to rebuild their daily lives and infrastructure that’s been badly damaged by Russian attacks.

As this year’s president of G-7, Kishida said he will host an online summit to be joined by Zelenskyy on Friday to mark the first anniversary of the Russian invasion.