New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Ukraine next month, marking his first trip to Kyiv which comes around six weeks after his visit to Moscow.
If the visit takes place, it will mark the first-ever visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Ukraine since its independence following the breakup of the Soviet Union.
The news was first reported by WION and has been confirmed by The Wire.
There has been no official statement from the Indian or Ukrainian side.
The Indian Prime Minister will also need to visit Poland, as the only way to enter Ukraine currently is via the Polish land border. Due to the ongoing conflict, Ukrainian airspace is closed to all civilian flights.
On July 8, Modi visited Moscow for his first bilateral foreign trip in his third term. It was also the first visit to Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.
As Modi arrived, Russian missiles struck Ukrainian cities, including a children’s hospital in Kyiv. Modi was received at his country residence by Putin and both embraced, which prompted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to publicly criticise the Indian leader.
He wrote 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 his public remarks with Putin following talks, Modi said that that it was painful to see the death of children in a conflict, but didn’t directly refer to the missile attacks.
India had later protested with Ukraine about Zelensky’s post on X, which were his strongest statement against New Delhi.
The visit to Russia had attracted a lot of criticism from the United States, including the ambassador Eric Garcetti, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Donald Lu and the Republican Congressman Joe Wilson.
“In a multipolar world, all countries have the freedom of choice. It is essential for everybody to be mindful of and appreciate such realities,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said on Thursday, July 25.
The last high level visit at the leadership level from India to Ukraine was by President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in 2005. Till now, no Indian Prime Minister has visited Ukraine after the recognition of the country in 1991.
India has not publicly criticised Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and has abstained on numerous international resolutions condemning Moscow over the years. However, India has broadly called for a peaceful resolution and the protection of civilians in the conflict.
Modi last met Zelensky on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy, just before the Ukrainian president attended a peace summit in Switzerland. Although India was invited, Modi did not attend, sending a senior Indian diplomat in his place. India also did not endorse the joint statement, asserting that all stakeholders, including Russia, should have been present at the summit.
