Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has stated that his country is ready to make any contribution to resolving the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Speaking ahead of official talks between the Russian and Indian delegations at the Kremlin, Modi noted that a solution to the war in Ukraine “cannot be found on the battlefield.”
According to Modi, India is confident that any conflicts globally can only be resolved by peaceful means and through dialogue.
“Rockets, shells or guns cannot help in solving issues or establishing peace…We are confident that only a peaceful path of dialogue can help. There should be dialogue.”
Narendra Modi
“A bright future of next generations needs peace,” the Indian Prime Minister emphasized.
Separately, Modi told Russian President, Vladimir Putin that the death of innocent children in war, conflict or a terrorist attack was “very painful.”
This came a day after a lethal strike on a children’s hospital in Kyiv.
Modi arrived in Moscow on Monday, July 8, 2024; the same day when hospital in Kyiv was struck, for a two-day official visit at the invitation of Russian President Putin to attend the 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit.
Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister, Denis Manturov received him at the Vnukovo-II airport.
Modi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the latter’s house in suburban Moscow and images from the meeting showed the two leaders exchanging hugs and chatting.
Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy took to social media platform X to criticize Modi’s visit to Russia.
“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,” the Ukrainian leader said.
“A Russian missile struck the largest children’s hospital in Ukraine, targeting young cancer patients. Many were buried under the rubble. It is 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.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyyy
India has become an increasingly important partner for sanctions-hit Russia as it shifts its trade away from the West and seeks to demonstrate that Western attempts to isolate it have failed.
India has refrained from criticising Russia over the war and has increased its purchases of cheap Russian oil to record levels, while urging Ukraine and Russia to resolve their conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.
UN Assessment Suggests Ukraine’s Largest Children’s Hospital Hit By Russian Missile
Meanwhile, the head of the UN’s human rights monitoring mission, Danielle Bell disclosed that the deadly strike on Kyiv’s Ohmatdyt children’s hospital, Ukraine’s biggest paediatrics facility, was likely caused by a direct hit from a Russian missile.
Bell said, “Analysis of the video footage and an assessment made at the incident site indicates a high likelihood that the children’s hospital suffered a direct hit rather than receiving damage due to an intercepted weapon system.”
She said her team, who visited the site on Monday, could not make a final determination but that the missile appeared to have been launched by the Russian Federation.
Ukraine says it has recovered fragments of a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile at the hospital, which was hit on Monday during a wave of Russian attacks that killed at least 41 Ukrainians across the country.
Russia said, without providing evidence, that it was a Ukrainian anti-missile system that struck the hospital.
Russian foreign ministry Spokesperson, Maria Zakharova claimed that it was a Nasams surface-to-air missile launched by Ukraine that hit the children’s hospital in Kyiv.
Officials and emergency staff said it was not immediately clear how many doctors and patients – dead or alive – remained trapped under the rubble.
READ ALSO: IMANI President Warns Against Attorney General’s ‘False’ Claims on Oil Deal
