Japan's prime minister is on his way to Ukraine for a surprise trip while Chinese President Xi Jinping is in the middle of a state visit to Russia.
Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Tuesday that Fumio Kishida is visiting Kyiv for summit talks with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — a move that had been anticipated to take place before Japan hosts leaders of the Group of Seven in May.
Kishida's trip makes him the second Asian leader to visit Ukraine since Russia invaded, after Indonesian President Joko Widodo went there last June.
Xi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are expected to discuss the deepening of economic and political cooperation, as well as the war in Ukraine, during the Chinese leader's three-day visit to Moscow.
Xi and Putin were holding discussions for hours on Monday during the first day of the Moscow trip.