Photo/Illutration The Habomai group islets, part of the disputed Northern Territories, is seen in the center of the photo taken on Jan. 30, 2019. Shikotan Island, also part of the Northern Territories, is in the upper left part of the picture. (Hiroyuki Yamamoto)

LONDON--Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video speech Oct. 7 he has signed a decree recognizing Japan’s sovereignty over the disputed Northern Territories and that Russia has no right to occupy the islands.

“Ukraine has confirmed that it respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Japan, including the Northern Territories, which are still under Russian occupation,” Zelenskyy said as he called on other countries to follow suit.

The Ukrainian Parliament adopted a resolution to this effect on Oct. 7.

The Northern Territories, four small islands off the coast of Japan’s northernmost main island of Hokkaido, were seized by Soviet forces in the closing days of World War II.

Zelenskyy said at the outset of the speech: “An important decision was made today.”

“It’s historical.”

He then stressed that Ukraine regards the Northern Territories as legitimate Japanese territory.

“Russia has no right to these territories,” he said. “Everyone in the world knows this well. We must finally act. We must de-occupy all the lands.”

“With this war against Ukraine and the international legal order and our people, Russia has put itself in conditions and it is now only a matter of time of the real liberation of everything that once was seized and now under the control of the Kremlin.”

Before the speech, the Ukrainian Parliament adopted a resolution that recognizes the Northern Territories as “Japan’s territory that has been illegally occupied.”

The resolution supports Japan’s long-standing demand for the return of the islands.

Zelenskyy’s speech was apparently intended to stress that Russia’s illegal occupation of territories is not limited to Ukraine, but occurs elsewhere in the world.

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