New Delhi:After his Moscow trip, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Ukraine next month, his first visit to the embattled country since the Russian invasion began in 2022. This comes a month after PM Modi met the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy.
The visit by PM Modi to Ukraine is not yet officially confirmed by the Ministry of External Affairs.
Zelenskyy has expressed disappointment over PM Modi's visit to Moscow earlier this month. He in a social media post then strongly opposed the meeting between PM Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Zelensky, on July 9, wrote, "In Ukraine today, 37 people were killed, three of whom were children, and 170 were injured, including 13 children, as a result of Russia's brutal missile strike. A Russian missile struck the largest children's hospital in Ukraine, targeting young cancer patients. Many were buried under the rubble. It is a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world's largest democracy hug the world's most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day".
Earlier in June, when PM Modi won a third term after the Lok Sabha elections, Zelenskyy congratulated him and invited him to visit his country. During a telephone conversation in March this year, the two discussed ways to further strengthen India-Ukraine partnership in various spheres.
While discussing the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, the PM reiterated India’s people-centric approach and called for dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward. He highlighted that India supports all efforts for an early and peaceful resolution of all issues between the Parties. He added that India would continue to do everything within its means to support a peaceful solution.
During that conversation, President Zelenskyy appreciated India’s continued humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine. Earlier this month, PM Modi, during his meeting with President Putin, urged for a non-violence approach by saying, "India has always called for respecting the United Nations Charter, including territorial integrity and sovereignty. There is no solution on the battlefield. Dialogue and diplomacy is the way forward".
PM Modi's visit to Kyiv comes amid a series of high-level exchanges between India and Ukraine. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, along with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Yermak, recently held telephone discussions.
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