Indian PM’s Ukraine visit is retaliation against Putin, says Portnikov

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Ukraine on August 23 intends to demonstrate India’s foreign policy independence and to make retribution against Putin, according to Vitaly Portnikov the respected Ukrainian journalist, political analyst, and commentator. 

“Narendra Modi is arriving in Ukraine on the eve of Independence Day and on Flag Day, which is an important signal to Russia – both regarding India’s support for Ukrainian sovereignty and Modi’s stance on the impossibility of using war as a tool in politics,” Portnikov assayed.

Modi’s first foreign visit after re-election as Indian PM was to Moscow, on July 8. The very same day, Russia launched another heavy assault on Ukraine, including targeting the largest children’s hospital in the country, Okhmatdyt.

“The Indian Prime Minister was literally stunned. … Of course, for Narendra Modi, it was an opportunity to again highlight the suffering of innocent war victims. However, politically, the Indian Prime Minister did not look very good when he had to meet with the Russian leader on the very day of another Putin crime. Now Narendra Modi has the chance to politically retaliate against the Russian President – while Putin is trying to rally forces to drive Ukrainian troops out of the Kursk Region, the Indian Prime Minister will be meeting with the President of Ukraine and other leaders of our state,” Portnikov highlighted.

India aims to become an intermediary country, transmitting sensitive information between the Russian leadership and Ukraine, and vice versa. “Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar emphasized during a meeting with the Indian community in Malaysia that New Delhi has previously handled such delicate tasks – whether it was ensuring safety at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant or preparing the so-called grain corridor between Russia and Ukraine. This was, I remind you, the first and only diplomatic agreement in all the years of the great Russo-Ukrainian war,” the journalist recalled.

At the same time, India does not seek to publicize its role in this diplomatic process. “The Ukrainian leadership will need to work to ensure that India’s involvement in ending the Russo-Ukrainian war is more prominent,” Portnikov noted.