Sybiha stated this on X, according to Ukrinform.

"Ukraine's position is unwavering: Japan's sovereignty over the Northern Territories is grounded in historical facts and international law… Russia uses the same imperial playbook everywhere. It occupies foreign land, militarizes it, threatens its neighbours, and then tries to make the world accept the illegal as irreversible," the Foreign Minister said.

He added that Ukraine knows this model very well and emphasized that it must not succeed either in Europe or in the Pacific region.

Sybiha stressed that Ukraine stands in solidarity with Japan and highly values its support. He called on international partners to clearly condemn Putin's provocative visit, reject any attempts to normalize Russia's occupation, strengthen the aggressor's isolation, and increase sanctions pressure.

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As Ukrinform reported, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi protested to Russia following Vladimir Putin's first visit to the disputed island of Etorofu. Motegi stated that the Northern Territories, including Etorofu, are an integral part of Japan both historically and under international law.

Etorofu is part of a group of islands off the eastern coast of Hokkaido Prefecture that were occupied by the former Soviet Union after World War II.

Japan claims the southern Kuril Islands, which it refers to as its Northern Territories, based on the 1855 Treaty of Commerce, Navigation and Delimitation.

Russia, meanwhile, insists that the Kuril Islands became part of the Soviet Union as a result of World War II.

In spring 2022, the Japanese government restored the wording "illegally occupied" in its annual Diplomatic Bluebook in reference to the Northern Territories — the islands of Etorofu, Kunashir, Shikotan and the Habomai Islands.