Japanese billionaire donates 1 billion yen to Ukraine and calls Russian invasion ‘challenge to democracy’
Hiroshi Mikitani promises the sum in a letter to Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky
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Your support makes all the difference.A Japanese billionaire pledged one billion yen (£6.5m) to the government of Ukraine for humanitarian aid in the wake of the Russian invasion of the country.
Hiroshi Mikitani, the founder and CEO of Rakuten, a Japanese company that specialises in e-trade and other online services, announced on Twitter on Sunday that he wrote to Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky informing him of his decision to donate the amount.
“Consulting with my family, we Mikitani family, have decided to donate 1 billion yen to Ukraine,” he wrote.
The tweet also included the letter to Mr Zelenksy and added: “Our hearts are with you.”
Mr Mikitani told Mr Zelensky that he supported the people of Ukraine and was “deeply saddened by the military attack” against the country.
“I believe that the trampling of a peaceful and democratic Ukraine by unjustified force is a challenge to democracy,” Mr Mikitani wrote in his letter.
“When I saw your courageous resistance against this unprovoked attack on behalf of Ukraine people, I thought about what I could do for Ukraine in Japan and decided to donate 1 billion JP Yen (8.7 million US dollars) to the Ukraine government, for humanitarian activities to help people in Ukraine who are victims of violence,” the letter said.
“I sincerely hope that Russia and Ukraine can resolve this issue peacefully and that Ukraine people can have peace again as soon as possible. I will continue to provide support to Ukraine and its people,” it added.
Last week, Japan joined other countries in the West in slapping sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has also said Japan planned to freeze Russian president Vladimir Putin’s assets, reported Associated Press.
The country also joined the international effort to block some Russian banks from the global SWIFT payment system.
On Thursday, Russia launched a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine that has since resulted in 240 civilian casualties, including 64 deaths, according to a new UN report on 25 February.
Thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes while the crisis also caused global stock markets to remain turbulent.
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