Japan's government confirms Zelensky will attend G7 summit online

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will participate in the G7 summit in Hiroshima online.

The Japanese government reported this on Thursday, according to Kyodo.

"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will participate in the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima online on Sunday, the Japanese government said Thursday, following speculation that he might attend the meeting in person," the news agency said.

When Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made a surprise trip to Kyiv on March 21 for talks with Zelensky, he said he invited the Ukrainian leader to take part in the three-day summit from Friday online.

At the same time, according to the Japanese news site Mainichi, Kishida told reporters in Hiroshima that President Zelensky was scheduled to attend the G7 leaders' session online on the afternoon of May 19. "But due to circumstances on the Ukrainian side, it was decided that he will participate [in the session] online on the morning of May 21," Kishida said.