ZELENSKYY’S APPROVAL
Yoon’s office said he also visited Bucha and Irpin, small towns near the capital where Russian soldiers are accused of war crimes against civilians. Moscow denies that.
Yoon said this week his administration was preparing to send demining equipment and ambulances, following a request from Ukraine, and will join NATO’s aid fund for Ukraine.
Yoon’s visit is significant because few other Asian leaders have visited Ukraine, said Ramon Pacheco Pardo, the Korea chair at the Brussels School of Governance research organisation.
How much of a policy shift towards providing more support for Ukraine remains to be seen, he added, but the trip shows Kyiv’s approval for aid sent so far.
“If he’s going it’s because Zelenskyy allowed him to go, because he feels Korea is doing enough to warrant it,” Pacheco Pardo said, adding that it also suggested South Korea may be offering more support behind the scenes.
Zelenskyy asked Yoon to boost military support when they first met in May. Yoon said on Saturday South Korea has delivered safety equipment and humanitarian aid that Ukraine needs, since May, including mine detectors.
South Korea’s defence ministry has said it was discussing exporting ammunition to the US, but said parts of a media report that Seoul had agreed to send artillery rounds to the US for delivery to Ukraine were inaccurate.
In 2022, South Korea’s arms sales jumped to more than U$17 billion from US$7.25 billion the year before, including a US$13.7 billion arms deal with Poland – Seoul’s biggest ever – supplying rocket launchers and fighter jets.
South Korean companies and entities in Ukraine and in other countries signed agreements on Friday to help with reconstruction, Seoul’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement.
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