New Delhi: After the Ukrainian president expressed outrage at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for embracing President Vladimir Putin on the same day that a children’s hospital was destroyed in Russian missile attacks on Kyiv, Modi asserted that he had discussed the conflict with Putin and emphasised that the death of children is painful for anyone who believes in humanity.
In his first foreign bilateral visit during his third term, Modi arrived in Moscow on the evening of July 8 and was hosted by Putin at his official country residence in Novo-Ogaryovo for dinner. Upon arrival, the two leaders were photographed embracing warmly and had an informal tête-à-tête over tea. The photos of Modi and Putin hugging each other circulated globally, contrasting with images of the damaged children’s hospital in the Ukrainian capital.
Ukraine
A few hours earlier, during daytime on Monday, multiple Russian missile strikes had rained upon Ukrainian cities, killing 31 people. Ukraine claimed that at least one of them hit the country’s largest paediatric facility, a children’s hospital in Kyiv. Amidst outrage in Western capitals, Russia has denied this and said that its targets were military, blaming the blast on Ukraine’s air defence system.
In the early hours of Tuesday, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy posted on X that it was 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”. In the same post, he published photos of the aftermath of the missile strike on the children’s hospital.
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… pic.twitter.com/V1k7PEz2rJ
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 8, 2024
An Indian diplomat was among the delegation of diplomatic missions who visited the damaged Okhmatdyt hospital, as per the Ukrainian foreign ministry.
This is the first time that the Ukrainian president has directly criticised India since the beginning of the Ukraine war. Zelenskyy had met with Modi last month on the sidelines of the G-7 summit in Italy, just ahead of the Swiss peace summit. India, which sent a junior official to the peace summit, distanced itself from the final communique as it felt that Russia should also have been at the table.
“Your excellency, let’s take war, any conflict or terrorist act: any person who believes in humanity feels pain when people die, and especially when innocent children die. When we feel such pain, the heart simply explodes, and I had the opportunity to talk about these issues with you yesterday,” he said in public remarks at the Kremlin before he and Putin went in for closed door delegation level talks.
He added that “bombs, bullets and guns cannot bring peace” and reiterated that “dialogue is necessary”.
Speaking in Hindi throughout, Modi also praised Putin for his “positive views” about the restoration of peace. “As I listened to you, I felt hopeful about the future,” he said.
Later on Tuesday, an Indian diplomat was among the delegation of diplomatic missions who visited the damaged Okhmatdyt hospital, as per the Ukrainian foreign ministry.
New Delhi has consistently refrained from directly criticising Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and has abstained from UN resolutions condemning Moscow. But it has tempered its refusal to blame Russia with statements about the importance of protecting civilians, respecting territorial integrity, and upholding the principles of the UN Charter.
Ahead of his visit to Russia, Modi had skipped the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Astana, Kazakhstan, officially citing the overlap with the parliamentary session. However, this decision was widely seen as part of India’s strategy to balance its relations with both the West and Russia.
The leaders of the West’s main military alliance NATO have also gathered in Washington to mark its 75 years anniversary and to assure Ukraine of their support.
US reaction
On Monday, the US state department spokesperson Mathew Miller told reporters that Washington had urged India during Modi’s visit to make it clear to Russia that “any resolution to the conflict in Ukraine needs to be one that respects the UN Charter, that respects Ukraine’s territorial integrity, Ukraine’s sovereignty”.
“And India is a strategic partner with whom we engage in a full and frank dialogue, and that includes on our concerns about the relationship with Russia,” said Miller, during the daily media briefing at Foggy Bottom.
He also stated that the United States “will look to Prime Minister Modi’s public remarks to see what he talked about”.
In his remarks to Putin which were full of praise for the Russian president, Modi asserted that the world “should admit that stability on the global market was maintained thanks to” Indian purchase of sanctioned Russian oil.
India’s bilateral trade volume with Russia has ballooned several times in the last two years due to New Delhi’s purchase of Russian crude and fertilisers.
“When the world faced various crises in the spheres of food security, fuels and fertilisers, it was thanks to Indian-Russian friendship, to our personal friendship that we managed to prevent problems for Indian farmers and satisfied their fertiliser requirements”.
Modi also claimed that Indian youth gained “new opportunities and new jobs” due to Russia’s support for ‘Make in India’ programs.
There was no open public appearance event of Modi in Moscow on his schedule on Tuesday, except for a speech at an Indian community event. However, it was not expected that he would make a reference to the Ukraine war in that address – and neither did he. But, he again stated in the address that “when India talks about peace, dialogue and diplomacy, the whole world listens”.
Despite the Indian election results not being an overwhelming endorsement of Modi, this did not reflect in his address at the community meeting. He maintained his personal tradition of criticising the previous Congress government on foreign soil.
Modi laid a wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, before visiting an exhibition pavilion of Rosatom, the state atomic energy corporation, which is involved in the construction of India’s Kudankulam nuclear power plant.
The entourage then proceeded to the Kremlin, where restricted and delegation-level talks awaited, marking Modi’s final engagement in Moscow. Modi also received Russia’s Order of St Andrew the Apostle, the highest honour granted by the Russian Federation.
While Modi’s public allusion to the death of children was clearly prompted by Zelenskyy’s tweet, Indian officials sought to address the more subtly phrased criticism from the US State Department in a low-key manner.
Indian official sources stated on Tuesday morning that India has “always called for respecting the UN Charter, including territorial integrity and sovereignty”. “There is no solution on the battlefield. Dialogue and diplomacy is the way forward,” they added.
Since Monday, Indian officials have been repeatedly highlighting “no solution on the battlefield” as the new catchphrase for Modi’s visit to Russia. This is likely to replace the “no era for war” phrase made by Modi to Putin two years ago in Samarkand, which was inserted by Indian officials in bilateral and multilateral documents.
In its two-year update, the UN has confirmed more than 10,500 civilian deaths in the ongoing Ukrainian conflict.
Fate of Indian inductees on battlefield unclear, no announcement from Russia
India has also suffered direct losses, with at least four Indian citizens working with the Russian side reported killed on the frontlines.
Last week, foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra mentioned that between 30 to 45 Indians may have been “misled and sent to join the Russian army”. He added that ten have returned due to efforts of the Indian government.
Privately, Indian officials have expressed frustration over Russia’s delay in releasing the Indian nationals despite government requests. Complications arose as many Indians had not contacted the Indian embassy for repatriation.
Earlier in the morning, news agencies reported that Putin had committed to the release of all Indian support staff with the Russian army. However, sources had cautioned The Wire to await an official announcement to confirm Russia’s commitments.
In the end, there was no official announcement.
At a press briefing, Kwatra said that there was “a sense of promise from the Russian side on that”, indicating that there will be no immediate release.
“Now the two systems will work on it and see how exactly and how expeditiously we can get them back into the country,” he said.
The Russian Ambassador to India, Denis Alipov also implied that there was no commitment, by stating that Moscow was “very open to dialogue on this particular issue”. He also insisted the Russian government was not involved. “We have never recruited and do not recruit Indians in the Russian army. This particular problem is a problem involving those agencies, mediators and shoddy people who misled Indian nationals in the first place”.
The joint statement issued at the conclusion of the visit also expressed “deep concern” at the ongoing Israeli military operations in Gaza, without taking any names.
Calling for a lasting sustainable ceasefire, the two countries also demanded the unconditional release of all hostages and unhindered access to humanitarian supplies.
“They reaffirmed their support for Palestine’s full membership in the United Nations and reiterated their unwavering commitment to the principle of the two-state solution according to internationally accepted basis,” it said.
While the Ukraine war has taken centre stage during Modi’s visit especially due to heightened emotions after the strike on the children’s hospital, Indian officials insisted that the takeaways from the trip would also be important for the continuous supply of oil and fertilisers.
“It is very, very clear that the economic agenda dominated the discussions between the two leaders,” insisted Kwatra.
He also stated that Modi raised his concern over the delay in the supply of spare parts for defence equipment. “Both sides had a general sense of agreement that this would be expedited, including through setting up joint venture partnerships in India,” said India’s top diplomat.
