Six Indians who were discharged from the Russian Army
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

At least six Indians enlisted with the Russian Army have been released from their camps on Russia-Ukraine border, months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the issue “personally” with President Vladimir Putin during his visit to Moscow in July.

Mohammad Sufiyan (24), a resident of Narayanpet in Telangana, who was released from a Russian camp, told The Hindu on phone from Moscow that he and five others were waiting to return to India after the completion of paperwork at the Indian Embassy.

Vikramjit Sahney, Rajya Sabha member, however, said 15 Indian youths, including four from Punjab, were being repatriated from Russia after being released from the Army.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar informed the Lok Sabha on August 9 that 91 Indians were recruited in the Russian Army in the past nine months, eight of them were killed and 69 Indians awaited release.

‘In red zone’

“We were in the red zone, two km away from the battlefield on Ukraine border. Our job was to ferry the dead bodies. There was constant bombing and firing. The bunkers they provided us to hide was so small that it was difficult to breathe,” said Mr. Sufiyan, who was allegedly tricked into joining the Russian Army after being offered the job of a security helper.

Sameer Ahmad (25), a resident of Kalaburgi in Karnataka who was also released said it would take few days for them to reach India. “It took us 36 hours to reach our base camp from the border. Our contracts were cancelled and now we have reached Moscow on our own,” said Mr. Ahmad. He said their issue was first raised by AIMIM member of Parliament Asaduddin Owaisi who pursued the issue with Mr. Jaishankar in January. 

The other four who were discharged are Abdul Nayeem (28), Syed Ilyas Hussain (24) from Kalaburgi in Karnataka, Azad Yousuf Kumar (32) from Jammu and Kashmir and Kamal Singh (40) from Punjab.

The Hindu reported first on February 20 that Indians who travelled to Russia on tourist visas were offered jobs as security helpers but were forced to fight alongside the Russian military on the Ukraine border.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni ahead of the European House-Ambrosetti Forum in Cernobbio, Italy, September 7, 2024.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

India and China can play a role in finding a solution to the dragging conflict in Ukraine, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Saturday (September 7, 2024) after holding talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The Italian Prime Minister’s comments at northern Italy’s Cernobbio city came two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin named India, Brazil and China as possible intermediaries that could play a role in resolving the conflict.

“China and India have a role to play in resolving the conflict,” Meloni was quoted as saying in Italian media.

“What must not happen is to think that the conflict can be resolved by abandoning Ukraine to its fate,” she said.

“The decision to support Kyiv is in line with Italy’s national interest and will never change,” Meloni said, reaffirming her government’s full support for Ukraine.

On September 5, 2024, Mr.Putin, speaking at a panel discussion at the Eastern Economic Forum in the Russian city of Vladivostok, said that he was in touch with India, Brazil and China on the Ukraine conflict.

“First of all, it is Chinese People’s Republic, Brazil and India — I am in contact with my partners and I have no doubt that the leaders of these countries — and we have relations of trust and confidence with one another — will be really interested and provide a helping hand,” he said.

His remarks came in response to a question on possible countries that can act as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kyiv last month during which he conveyed to Zelenskyy that both Ukraine and Russia should sit together without wasting time to end the ongoing war and that India was ready to play an “active role” to restore peace in the region.

The Prime Minister said India was on the side of peace since the beginning of the conflict and he would even like to contribute personally for a peaceful resolution of the crisis.

Mr. Modi’s nearly nine-hour visit to Ukraine on August 23, the first by an Indian prime minister since its independence in 1991, came six weeks after he held summit talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

New Delhi:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reacted sharply to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s brief visit to Russia and his interaction with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) Mr Zelenskyy referred to Russia’s attack Monday – in which at least 37 people, including three children, were killed after a missile strike on a children’s hospital in Kyiv.

The strike also damaged nearly 100 buildings, including schools and maternity hospitals.

His tweet included photographs of the bombed hospital and babies in ambulances.

Mr Zelenskky’s post came after Prime Minister Modi met President Putin in Moscow and shared an embrace. Visuals from their meeting showed the two leaders drinking tea on a terrace at Mr Putin’s home in Novo-Ogaryovo outside Moscow, and Mr Modi being driven around in a golf cart.

One photo in particular – of Mr Modi and Mr Putin hugging – has been widely shared online.

READ | PM Hugs Putin On Russia Visit, Tea Meet At Home, Golf Cart Ride

And the Ukraine President was particularly critical of that image, posting, “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…”

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

PM Modi flew into Moscow on a two-day visit that treads a fine line between maintaining a longstanding relationship and courting closer ties with the West amid the war in Ukraine. 

This is the Prime Minister’s first visit since he was voted back to power last month.

It is also his first to Russia since the war in Ukraine began.

READ | At Modi-Putin Dinner, India’s Direct Appeal To End Ukraine War

Sources have told NDTV that Mr Modi, during his meeting with Mr Putin, stressed no solution – to the violence – could be found on the battlefield. “India has always called for respecting the United Nations Charter, including territorial integrity and sovereignty. There is no solution on the battlefield. Dialogue and diplomacy is the way forward,” Mr Modi is believed to have said.

Mr Modi has also spoken to Mr Zelenskyy on numerous occasions, including meeting him in Italy last month on the sidelines of the G7 summit. The two were photographed sharing a hug. Their first face-to-face meeting since the war started was in May last year, at the G7 summit hosted by Japan.

In a phone call with President Zelenskyy in October 2022, PM Modi said there can be “no military solution” and that India is ready to contribute to any peace efforts

READ | PM Speaks To Ukraine President, Call With Putin Later Today

Ever since the war began India has maintained it can only be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy, and the Prime Minister has said “India is ready to contribute to any peace efforts”.

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.

New Delhi:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reacted sharply to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s brief visit to Russia and his interaction with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) Mr Zelenskyy referred to Russia’s attack Monday – in which at least 37 people, including three children, were killed after a missile strike on a children’s hospital in Kyiv.

The strike also damaged nearly 100 buildings, including schools and maternity hospitals.

His tweet included photographs of the bombed hospital and babies in ambulances.

Mr Zelenskky’s post came after Prime Minister Modi met President Putin in Moscow and shared an embrace. Visuals from their meeting showed the two leaders drinking tea on a terrace at Mr Putin’s home in Novo-Ogaryovo outside Moscow, and Mr Modi being driven around in a golf cart.

One photo in particular – of Mr Modi and Mr Putin hugging – has been widely shared online.

READ | PM Hugs Putin On Russia Visit, Tea Meet At Home, Golf Cart Ride

And the Ukraine President was particularly critical of that image, posting, “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…”

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

PM Modi flew into Moscow on a two-day visit that treads a fine line between maintaining a longstanding relationship and courting closer ties with the West amid the war in Ukraine. 

This is the Prime Minister’s first visit since he was voted back to power last month.

It is also his first to Russia since the war in Ukraine began.

READ | At Modi-Putin Dinner, India’s Direct Appeal To End Ukraine War

Sources have told NDTV that Mr Modi, during his meeting with Mr Putin, stressed no solution – to the violence – could be found on the battlefield. “India has always called for respecting the United Nations Charter, including territorial integrity and sovereignty. There is no solution on the battlefield. Dialogue and diplomacy is the way forward,” Mr Modi is believed to have said.

Mr Modi has also spoken to Mr Zelenskyy on numerous occasions, including meeting him in Italy last month on the sidelines of the G7 summit. The two were photographed sharing a hug. Their first face-to-face meeting since the war started was in May last year, at the G7 summit hosted by Japan.

In a phone call with President Zelenskyy in October 2022, PM Modi said there can be “no military solution” and that India is ready to contribute to any peace efforts

READ | PM Speaks To Ukraine President, Call With Putin Later Today

Ever since the war began India has maintained it can only be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy, and the Prime Minister has said “India is ready to contribute to any peace efforts”.

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with President of Russian Federation Vladimir Putin prior to their meeting at Hyderabad house in New Delhi on Monday.
| Photo Credit: V V Krishnan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will pay a two-day visit to Russia from July 8 to 9 to hold the 22nd India-Russia annual summit that will review the entire range of multifaceted ties between the two countries.

After concluding his trip to Russia, Mr. Modi will travel to Austria, which will be the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to that country in 41 years, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

It will be Mr. Modi’s first trip to Russia in nearly five years. His last visit to Russia was in 2019 when he attended an economic conclave in the Far East city of Vladivostok.

The annual summit between the Prime Minister of India and the President of Russia is the highest institutional dialogue mechanism in the strategic partnership between the two countries.

So far, 21 annual summits have taken place alternately in India and Russia.

The last summit was held on December 6, 2021 in New Delhi. President Vladimir Putin had visited India to attend the summit.

The summit saw both sides sealing 28 MoUs and agreements besides coming out with a joint statement titled “India-Russia Partnership for Peace, Progress and Prosperity”.

Mr. Modi and Mr. Putin last held bilateral talks on the margins of a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) at Samarkand in Uzbekistan on September 16, 2022.

In the meeting, Mr. Modi had famously pressed Mr. Putin to end the conflict in Ukraine saying “today’s era is not of war”.

“I know today’s era is not of war. We discussed this issue on phone several times that democracy, diplomacy and dialogue touch the entire world,” Mr. Modi had said.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Mr. Modi has held several telephonic conversations with Mr. Putin and Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

In reflection of its strong friendship with Russia, India has not yet condemned Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and it has been maintaining that the crisis must be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue.

India’s import of Russian crude oil has also gone up significantly notwithstanding the G7 price cap and increasing disquiet over the procurement in many Western countries.

In December 2022, the G7 grouping and its allies announced a cap on the price of Russian oil as part of a series of punitive measures against Moscow in view of its invasion of Ukraine. The price cap restricts countries to pay more than $60 a barrel.

From Russia, Mr. Modi will travel to Austria. He will be in Austria on July 9 and 10.

“This will be the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Austria in 41 years. He will call on President of the Republic of Austria Alexander Van der Bellen and hold talks with Chancellor of Austria Karl Nehammer,” the MEA said.

“The Prime Minister and Chancellor will also address business leaders from India and Austria,” it said in a statement.

Mr. Modi will also interact with members of the Indian community in Moscow as well as in Vienna, the MEA said.