rki.news | Sources: Anadolu Agency

MOSCOW — Russia has summoned Japan’s ambassador to protest a commercial deal between a Japanese company and a Ukrainian drone manufacturer that Moscow says undermines its security interests.

On Wednesday, Ambassador Akira Muto was handed a formal protest note by the Russian Foreign Ministry, which stated that Ukrainian drone strikes inside Russian territory provide “grounds to view such a move as openly hostile.”

The ministry said Japan-Russia relations have reached “an unprecedented low” due to what it described as Japan’s “unfriendly policies,” adding that Tokyo must show a genuine commitment to dialogue through “concrete actions and practical steps,” not just rhetoric.

The diplomatic protest was triggered after Tokyo-based Terra Drone Corporation announced last month that its subsidiary entered a deal with Ukraine’s Amazing Drones LLC, raising concerns in Moscow about the potential use of Japanese-linked technology in Ukraine’s conflict.

Russia’s move underscores heightened tensions over foreign support to Kyiv amid the ongoing war.