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President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine landed in Hiroshima, Japan, on Saturday, bolstered by a major shift from President Biden, who told U.S. allies that he would allow Ukrainian pilots to be trained on American-made F-16 fighter jets.
Live footage on Japan’s public broadcaster, NHK, showed Mr. Zelensky stepping off a French plane at an airport in Hiroshima, dressed in a Khaki-colored hooded jacket. Red carpet was rolled out on the tarmac minutes before his arrival, and he was immediately whisked away in a black sedan.
“Japan. G7. Important meetings with partners and friends of Ukraine,” Mr. Zelensky wrote on Twitter shortly after landing. “Security and enhanced cooperation for our victory. Peace will become closer today.”
He had departed late Friday from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, after attending the Arab League summit.
His surprise visit to Japan, the details of which were kept murky until the day before his trip, came after Mr. Biden appeared to sharply reverse course on the U.S. position on fighter jets and said that he was prepared to let other countries give F-16s to Ukraine. On Saturday morning in Hiroshima, Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, confirmed the shift.
Mr. Zelensky welcomed the “historic decision” by Mr. Biden, and said on Twitter that he would discuss its “practical implementation” at the summit.
Mr. Zelensky was expected to address the leaders of the Group of 7 nations, who have gathered in Hiroshima, Japan, a city that was itself once leveled by war, as he seeks to marshal more military aid for his country from the leaders of the world’s wealthiest democracies. His visit was arranged after he expressed a “strong desire” to participate face to face, Japan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
As he was flying to Hiroshima, Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv was rocked with yet another barrage of drone attacks, according to the Ukrainian military. All were shot down, the military said.
In Hiroshima, Mr. Zelensky will almost certainly meet one on one with Mr. Biden. The leaders of India, Brazil and other nations that have been reluctant to support Ukraine are also at the meeting, as observers, and Mr. Zelensky’s presence could make it more difficult for them to maintain that stance, several officials said.
The leaders gathered in Hiroshima — besides President Biden, they include the heads of government from Japan, Canada, Britain, France, Germany and Italy; and a top European Union official — will be talking over the weekend about all dimensions of Russia’s war in Ukraine. In addition to questions of when and how to provide Kyiv with the F-16 fighter jets, they may also discuss the possibility of negotiations over an armistice or peace treaty.
Mr. Biden’s decision on pilot training, which creates a pathway for supplying Ukraine with fighter jets, fulfills Mr. Zelensky’s persistent request for advanced warplanes to overcome Russian air supremacy. With its modern missiles and a powerful radar that can spot targets from hundreds of miles away, the F-16 contains classified and other highly restricted systems that the United States does not want duplicated or falling into hostile hands.
Mr. Zelensky’s trip to Japan is the latest in a flurry of trips outside Ukraine to shore up support ahead of an anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive. In his previous stop, in Saudi Arabia, Mr. Zelensky appealed to Arab leaders meeting there not to bend to Russian influence.
At the summit that began on Friday, the G7 leaders pledged to toughen punishments on Moscow and redouble efforts to choke off funding for its war. In his meetings with the leaders, Mr. Zelensky will have a chance to discuss the war with some of his staunchest backers: the U.S., Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Canada and Italy. The leaders of India, Brazil and other nations that have been reluctant to support Ukraine will also attend the summit, as observers.
Mr. Zelensky will be making his appeal in a city that serves as a sobering reminder of the devastation of war, in the midst of a conflict that has at times heightened worries of a potential nuclear clash.
In a visit on Friday to Hiroshima Peace Memorial, the site of a World War II atomic bombing, G7 leaders “reiterated their position that threats by Russia of nuclear weapon use, let alone its use, are inadmissible,” Japan’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
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The New York Times
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