Kiev's ambassador to Tokyo said Tuesday that his country is asking for international support in light of Russia's recent deployment of troops to Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.
Speaking at the Ukrainian Embassy in Tokyo, Ambassador Ihor Kharchenko said that Russian "aggression" had prompted his government to take the issue to the U.N. Security Council.
The Ukrainian government brought the case to the international body to work "with relevant appeal to all U.N. members for rendering all kind of support" for Ukraine, which has been "faced with open aggression," Kharchenko said.
"Now Ukraine is faced with an external threat. It is more than obvious that Ukraine doesn't want to lose more lives," he said. "That is why we're calling for every government to stand beside Ukraine in this very difficult and very important stage."
Responding to a question regarding Russian President Vladimir Putin's request to the Federation Council to use the nation's armed forces in Ukraine "until the normalization of the sociopolitical situation in that country," Kharchenko flatly responded that the turmoil facing the country was not his concern.