The meeting with Zelenskyj, which takes place the day after Modi's visit to Poland, began with the two visiting a memorial site for children who lost their lives in the war. Thereafter, they sat down for a meeting where Modi promised humanitarian support to Ukraine.
Regardless of what kind of help is required from a humanitarian perspective, India will always stand by your side and will go beyond the ordinary to support you, he says.
Hugs
Assessors predicted before the meeting that it would be chilly – after Modi recently hugged Russia's President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. But in a video that Volodymyr Zelenskyj published on X, he is also seen shaking hands and hugging the Indian leader.
This is the first time an Indian Prime Minister visits Ukraine.
Zelenskyj's chief of staff Andrij Jermak calls Modi's visit historic and says that Ukraine expects India to play a role in ending the war and achieving a "just peace".
Modi has not condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but has repeatedly spoken about the need for a solution to the conflict and presented himself as a potential peacemaker.
We were not neutral from day one – we have chosen a side, and we stand for peace, he says.
Wants Dialogue
A diplomatic breakthrough, however, seems far away, regardless of how one views Ukraine's incursion into Russian territory last week.
According to Zelenskyj, "a number of documents" are being signed in connection with today's meeting. The President has previously directed sharp criticism towards Modi for his seemingly warm meeting with Putin in July, which took place hours after a Russian missile hit a children's hospital in Kiev and killed nearly 40 people.
Before Friday's meeting, Modi and Zelenskyj last met during the G7 meeting in Italy in June. Even then, Modi is said to have emphasized the importance of dialogue and diplomacy in relation to the war.
