Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy meets Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G7 summit, Hiroshima, Japan, May 20, 2023 (AP)
Thursday’s Coverage: EU’s Top Diplomat Backs Long-Range Strikes Inside Russia
Map: Institute for the Study of War
UPDATE 1656 GMT:
In a lengthy joint statement, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and visiting Prime Minister Narendra Modi have supported “a strategic partnership in the future” with a commitment to development of bilateral ties.
The two men “reiterated their readiness for further cooperation in upholding principles of international law, including the UN Charter, such as respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty of states”.
However, Modi avoided a direct reference to Ukrainian sovereignty in the face of Russia’s invasion. Instead, he declared a “focus on peaceful resolution through dialogue and diplomacy” and “willingness to contribute in all possible ways to facilitate an early return of peace”.
Ukraine declared that the communiqué of June’s Global Peace Summit, which India attended without signing the document, can be the basis for further initiatives.
The two leaders also promoted food security, including the export of Ukrainian grain; economic, scientific and technical Cooperation, including in agriculture and pharmaceuticals; defense cooperation; and cultural and people-to-people links
UPDATE 1536 GMT:
Ukraine’s air defenses downed 14 of 16 Russian drones overnight.
Russia also fired two ballistic missiles.
The Ukraine miliitary gave no information about casualties or damage.
UPDATE 1458 GMT:
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has commented on his meeting with the visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi:
India supports Ukraine’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity. And this is critical because everyone in the world must equally respect the UN Charter.
Today, history was made. The Prime Minister of India @narendramodi made his first visit to Ukraine since our country's independence, on the eve of our Independence Day.
Today, we reached an agreement on four documents between Ukraine and India, covering the medical field,… pic.twitter.com/I65cVWkbw7
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 23, 2024
UPDATE 1238 GMT:
Meeting Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said he supports and respects Ukrainian territorial integrity and sovereignty but that a resolution must come through dialogue and diplomacy.
Calling the discussion “friendly” and “historic”, Modi said
he is “personally” ready to play a role “as a friend” to bring peace. Negotiations with both sides at the table should be opened without wasting any time, he asserted.
The Prime Minister insisted he had not been a neutral or an indifferent bystander.
UPDATE 0602 GMT:
Video of Ukraine’s drone strike against the Marinovka airbase in the Volgograd region deep inside Russia on Thursday:
Around 30 Su-34 and Su-35 fighter jets are hosted at the base. They carry out regular attacks on Ukrainian positions on the frontline about 280 miles away.
It is unclear how many jets were damaged or destroyed. However, one Russian witness filming the destruction said:
It’s a serious tragedy, folks. This is serious stuff. It’s all fucking on fire. And it’s fucking smoke. It’s all fucking exploding. That’s it.
UPDATE 0600 GMT:
A 56-year-old man was killed and eight people injured, including a 15-year-old boy, in a Russian strike on the village of Bohodukhiv in the Kharkiv region in northeast Ukraine on Thursday.
Two civilians were killed and another wounded by a Russian guided bomb on the Sumy region in northern Ukraine.
UPDATE 0558 GMT:
The US is sending around $125 million in new military aid to Ukraine.
The package includes air defense missiles; ammunition for HIMARS rocket systems; Javelin anti-tank missile systems and other anti-armor missiles; counter-drone and counter-electronic warfare systems and equipment; 155mm and 105mm artillery ammunition; and vehicles and other equipment.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: India’s Narendra Modi will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday, in the first trip to Kyiv by an Indian Prime Minister to Ukraine’s independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
India has maintained a balance throughout Vladimir Putin’s 2 1/2-year invasion between criticism of the assault and support of Russia. It has avoided any blame of Moscow, opposed international sanctions, abstained from UN resolutions, and increased its imports of Russian oil.
Modi met Putin in Moscow last month. Zelenskiy denounced the “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”.
However, Russia undermined the appearance by launching 38 missiles on Ukraine, killed 43 civilians and injuring almost 200. Among the 100 buildings damaged was a children’s hospital in Ukraine, largely destroying the toxicology and oncology wards.
Ukraine War, Day 886: A Visit to A Children’s Hospital Bombed by Russia
The missile strikes prompted Modi to issue a rare, implicit rebuke to Putin:
Whether it is war, conflict or a terrorist attack, any person who believes in humanity is pained when there is loss of lives.
But even in that, when innocent children are killed, the heart bleeds and that pain is very terrifying.
Zelenskiy is seeking to build on the Global Peace Summit in Switzerland in mid-June, with more than 90 countries supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Kyiv’s push for negotiations to end the invasion and force a Russian withdrawal has been bolstered by a 17-day incursion taking part of the Kursk region in western Russia.
Presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak said India “really has a certain influence”: “It’s extremely important for us to effectively build relations with such countries, to explain to them what the correct end to the war is — and that it is also in their interests.”
Modi said on the eve of his trip:
I look forward to the opportunity to…share perspectives on peaceful resolution of the ongoing Ukraine conflict. As a friend and partner, we hope for an early return of peace and stability in the region.
