New Delhi: India on Monday raised concern over the escalation of conflict in Ukraine after the Crimea bridge attack on Saturday. "India is deeply concerned at the escalation of conflict in Ukraine, including the targeting of infrastructure and deaths of civilians," read the Ministry of External Affairs release.
In what appears to be the heaviest wave of missile and rocket attacks since the opening week of the war, Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities were rocked by deadly Russian strikes on Monday. Officials said they targeted critical energy infrastructure and several regions of Ukraine are now suffering power outages.
India urged both Russia and Ukraine for the immediate cessation of hostilities and urgent return to the path of diplomacy and dialogue. "We reiterate escalation of hostilities is in no one's interest. We urge immediate cessation of hostilities and urgent return to the path of diplomacy and dialogue," read MEA release.
India has consistently maintained since the beginning of the conflict that the global order is anchored in the principles of the UN Charter, international law and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states. The release further added that India stands ready to support all such efforts aimed at de-escalation.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday warned of "harsh" reprisals after the Crimea bridge attack on Saturday. In a television appearance Monday, Putin said Russia had struck military and infrastructure targets across Ukraine following the Crimea bridge blast.
Putin threatened further "harsh" responses that correspond "to the level of threat to the Russian Federation, have no doubt about it," while accusing Kyiv of "terrorism." Meanwhile, Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the attack on the Kerch bridge, a key link between the Russian mainland and Crimea.
Powerful explosions rang across Kyiv on Monday morning, leaving multiple people dead. At the same time, regional authorities also reported missile and rocket attacks in Kharkiv, Lviv, Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk, partly aimed at critical civilian infrastructure.
Meanwhile, the G7 group of nations will hold an emergency meeting via video conference on Tuesday, the office of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz confirmed to CNN. Scholz is the current G7 president under its rotating leadership.
The G7 consists of the seven leaders from some of the world's largest economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. Russia was indefinitely suspended from the group -- then the G8 -- in 2014 after its illegal annexation of Crimea.
