South Korea sends non-lethal aid to Ukraine via civilian plane 

Seoul: South Korea has sent non-lethal aid to Ukraine via a chartered civilian plane, Seoul's defense ministry said Thursday. 

A week earlier, the ministry made public plans to provide non-lethal military and medical supplies to the war-hit Ukraine.

The ministry's deputy spokesperson, Col. Moon Hong-sik, announced the transportation of the items to Ukraine. 

However, he refused to elaborate, citing security reasons. 

The ministry said earlier it had plans to provide Ukraine with some 20 items, including tents, bedspreads and first-aid kits, under a support package worth 1 billion won (US$819,067).

Ukraine has requested humanitarian and military support—reportedly including rifles, anti-tank missiles and other weapons, from a number of other countries as it struggles to fight against Russian invasion.

In February, Ukraine's top envoy in Seoul, Dmytro Ponomarenko, made a specific call for South Korea to help strengthen his country's cybersecurity capabilities.

Putin launched its military operation to demilitarise Ukraine on February 24. Many countries, including South Korea, have imposed severe sanctions on Russia for its actions in Ukraine.

Earlier, it was announced that South Korea would be tightening export controls against Russia by restricting the supply of strategic products and will block some Russian banks from using the SWIFT messaging system.