Ukraine should condemn Putin's visit to Japan's Northern Territories and reconsider its position on Kosovo

Putin is not the first Russian leader to visit the occupied Japanese territories. Dmitry Medvedev had done so on multiple occasions—both as president and as prime minister of Russia. In 2010, Medvedev became the first leader of Russia or the Soviet Union to visit one of the disputed territories—Kunashir.

But no leader of the Soviet Union ever went there. And that is telling.

Even during the Cold War, the Soviet Union was forced to abide by certain rules of the international order that had emerged after World War II. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, this order increasingly relied on democratic principles, international law, state sovereignty, and the inviolability of borders.

Today, Russia is attempting to change the very rules by which the modern democratic world operates.

That is precisely why it is extremely important for Ukraine not only to hold its ground on the front lines in the war with Russia but also to have reliable allies in the global confrontation between the democratic and authoritarian worlds.

Ukraine must unequivocally condemn Putin’s visit to Japan’s Northern Territories.

This would be entirely logical and consistent, given that as early as October 7, 2022, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine appealed to the international community regarding Japan’s Northern Territories, and the President of Ukraine issued Decree No. 692/2022. The decree explicitly states that Ukraine respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Japan, including its Northern Territories, which remain under occupation by the Russian Federation, and recognizes them as an integral part of Japan’s sovereign territory.

Putin’s visit to Iturup demonstrates once again that the problem extends far beyond Russian aggression against Ukraine. The Kremlin seeks to unite authoritarian regimes around the idea of revising the international order and redrawing the world map.

It is precisely in this context, in my opinion, that Ukraine’s policy toward Kosovo is misguided.

Kosovo’s independence has been recognized by the majority of European Union member states, as well as the United States, the United Kingdom, and many of our other key allies. Therefore, openly supporting the Serbian position on non-recognition of Kosovo—as effectively happened during Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s recent visit to Belgrade—is politically short-sighted.

This is especially true given that Serbia is still trying to balance its relations between the European Union and Russia, has not joined the sanctions against Russia, and maintains close ties with Moscow. At the same time, Kosovo is consistently orienting itself toward the West and building its statehood in cooperation with the United States and European democracies.

Ukraine needs a clear, values-based foreign policy.

We cannot demand that the democratic world take a principled stand against Russia’s occupation of Ukrainian territories, recognize Russia’s occupation of Japan’s Northern Territories — and at the same time remain hostage to Ukraine’s old “multi-vector” policy when it comes to our allies and fundamental political values.

The world is increasingly divided not merely into states with different interests, but into democracies and authoritarian regimes that seek to reshape the international order.

Ukraine must know exactly which side it is on. And it must demonstrate this just as clearly.

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