Japan-Ukraine Relations
Foreign Minister Kamikawa’s Visit to Bucha City
On January 7 (local time), Ms. KAMIKAWA Yoko, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, visited the city of Bucha on the outskirts of Kyiv, shortly after her arrival in Ukraine and prior to a meeting with dignitaries. She paid her respects at the site of the mass burial behind the Church of St. Andrew in the city and heard about the atrocities of the Russian aggression from Mr. Ruslan Kravchenko, the head of Kyiv Regional State Administration, and Mr. Anatoliy Fedoruk, Mayor of Bucha.
Minister Kamikawa also visited the bridge over Irpin River to see the scars of war and the state of recovery and reconstruction in the area.
The bridge is located in the city of Irpin near Kyiv. When the aggression by Russia began, about 40,000 residents fled across the river after the Ukrainians dropped the bridge to stop Russian troops from marching into Kyiv. It is now the site of the scars of war, with the remains of the original bridge and a new one built next to it.