Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit Kyiv in August, marking his first trip to Ukraine since the start of Russia’s all-out war in February 2022. The visit, likely to coincide with Ukraine’s Independence Day, is still being finalized and has not yet been officially confirmed by the Ministry of External Affairs. This trip follows an invitation from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, extended during a phone call earlier this year.
Reports of Modi’s planned visit come amidst a series of high-level discussions between India and Ukraine. Recently, 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, conducted telephone talks aimed at strengthening bilateral relations.
In June, Modi met with Zelenskyy at the G7 summit in Italy to discuss the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Modi reiterated India’s commitment to supporting a peaceful resolution through dialogue and diplomacy. This marked their second in-person meeting since the war began, the first being at the previous year’s G7 summit in Japan.
Earlier this month, Modi also met with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, reaffirming India-Russia strategic ties. During this visit, which coincided with a missile strike on a children’s hospital in Kyiv that resulted in numerous casualties, Modi expressed his deep sorrow, describing the death of innocent children as both painful and terrifying.
