In Brief: Japanese billionaire donates to Ukraine

TOKYO • Japanese billionaire Hiroshi "Mickey" Mikitani said yesterday that he will donate 1 billion yen (S$11.7 million) to the government of Ukraine, calling Russia's invasion "a challenge to democracy".

The founder of e-commerce giant Rakuten said in a letter addressed to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky that the donation will go towards "humanitarian activities to help people in Ukraine who are victims of the violence".

Mr Mikitani said he visited Kyiv in 2019 and met Mr Zelensky.

"I believe that the trampling of a peaceful and democratic Ukraine by unjustified force is a challenge to democracy," he wrote.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

MOSCOW • Russia's space agency Roskosmos is suspending cooperation with Europe on space launches from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana, in response to Western sanctions imposed on it over Ukraine, Roskosmos head Dmitry Rogozin said on Saturday.

"In response to EU sanctions against our companies, Roskosmos is suspending cooperation with European partners on space launches from Kourou, and is withdrawing its technical staff... from French Guiana," Dr Rogozin said in a post on his Telegram channel.

The European Union played down Russia's pullout, saying it would not affect the quality of service of its satellite networks Galileo and Copernicus.

REUTERS

BEIJING • China's envoy to Ukraine said yesterday that current conditions were too unsafe to evacuate citizens, days after the embassy said it would prepare plans to help people leave amid the Russian invasion.

In a lengthy video message on the embassy's official WeChat account, Chinese ambassador Fan Xianrong sought to dispel rumours he had left Kyiv and reassure Chinese nationals left stranded in the war-torn country.

"As long as safety conditions are met and everyone's safety is guaranteed, we will make appropriate arrangements," said Mr Fan from his office. China has previously said there were about 6,000 Chinese nationals in Ukraine for work and study.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

BERLIN • More than 100,000 people in Berlin protested in solidarity with Ukraine yesterday, calling for the end of Russia's invasion and saying history should not repeat itself.

Thousands took to the streets from London to New York to Teheran over the weekend to denounce Russia's assault on its neighbour and called on governments to do more to help Kyiv.

In Russia, police detained more than 900 people at anti-war protests that occurred in 44 cities yesterday, independent protest monitoring group OVD-Info said.

REUTERS