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full screen Russian President Vladimir Putin in an informal meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Putin’s residence outside Moscow on Monday. Photo: AP/TT
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sharply criticized Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his visit to Moscow, which began on Monday. Modi landed in Moscow on the same day as Russia launched massive airstrikes against Ukraine, killing around 40 people, including several children.
On X, Zelensky writes that “it is a great disappointment and a devastating blow to the attempts to achieve peace to see the leader of the world’s largest democracy hugging the world’s most bloodthirsty criminal in Moscow on such a day”.
Modi’s two-day visit to Russia is his first since Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. Pictures from Monday show Putin welcoming Modi with a warm embrace. The two also drank tea together and visited a horse show.
On Tuesday, Putin is expected to hold official talks with Modi in the Kremlin. The trip is seen as a sign of continued close relations between New Delhi and Moscow. India has longstanding ties to Russia and is heavily dependent on the Kremlin for military equipment. The country has also increasingly bought Russian crude oil, providing important revenue for Russia, which has become increasingly isolated from the West due to the invasion of Ukraine.