Japan's FM confirms its national was killed in Ukraine: Reports

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The Japanese Foreign Ministry has confirmed the killing of a citizen who had traveled to Ukraine to take part in hostilities against Russia as a "volunteer", according to the Kyodo news agency on Friday.

Recently, news of the death of a 20–30-year-old Japanese national surfaced on social media. Hirokazu Matsuno, the head of the Japanese cabinet, stated at a press conference that the Japanese Embassy in Ukraine was verifying the information.

The man died on November 9, but his name and the area where he was killed are yet to be determined, Kyodo reported, according to the Ministry.

Japanese nationals have been barred from visiting Ukraine and recommended to leave the country immediately, according to the Ministry's information.

After a seven-month hiatus, the Japanese embassy in Ukraine reopened its doors on October 5 in Kiev. Following the beginning of Russia's military action in Ukraine in February, Japan moved its embassy from Kiev to the western city of Lvov.

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In March, the Japanese diplomatic mission left Ukraine, while its actions were taken over by the embassy in Poland.

Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, publicly encouraged foreigners to his nation to join an "international legion" that would fight alongside Ukrainians against the Russians when Russia began its military campaign in that nation.

According to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, about 20,000 foreign "volunteers", mostly from European nations, had joined the fight against Moscow by March.

Taiwan's Foreign Ministry reported last week that a Taiwanese national in Ukraine was killed in action, thought to be the first islander lost in the conflict.

On the other hand, a few days ago, The Grayzone obtained documents revealing how British military-intelligence figures are organizing a covert Ukrainian “partisan” army, which came with explicit instructions detailing the means of executing attacks against Russian targets in Crimea.

A Ukrainian drone attack on October 28 impaired the Russian Black Sea fleet’s flagship vessel; Russia immediately pointed its finger at Britain for its support and coordination of the strike. Most recently, Russia called for an investigation into Liz Truss’ text message to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken after the explosions that impacted Nord Stream, where Truss texted the US official: “It’s done.”

According to The Grayzone, leaked documents expose the involvement of British military intelligence operatives in the signing of an agreement with the Ukrainian Security Service's Odessa branch to create and train a secret Ukrainian partisan terror army. The plans in question included a call on the secret army to conduct sabotage and reconnaissance operations targeting Crimea on behalf of the Ukrainian Security Service.