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Ukrainian officials were portraying the visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India as a welcome show of support for their country during the war with Russia.
Aug. 23, 2024Updated 8:44 a.m. ET
Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India arrived in Kyiv on Friday, furthering a long diplomatic effort by Ukraine to engage non-Western nations in potential settlement talks in the war with Russia.
While many leaders of countries backing Ukraine, including President Biden, have visited Kyiv, Mr. Modi’s trip is the highest-profile wartime visit of a leader of a nation with a neutral stance on the conflict.
In Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky greeted Mr. Modi with a hug and the two leaders lay flowers at a memorial for children killed in the war. “Children in every country deserve to live in safety,” Mr. Zelensky wrote in a post on social media. “We must make this possible.
Mr. Modi had earlier visited a memorial in Kyiv to Gandhi, underscoring the focus on peace talks. On a trip to Moscow last month, Mr. Modi had also hugged the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin.
Ukrainian officials have said that they do not see a mediating role for India, but they portrayed Mr. Modi’s visit as a welcome show of support for their country during the war. The visit is a first by an Indian leader since Ukraine gained independence in 1991.
In comments to reporters in Poland before traveling into Ukraine, Mr. Modi said he intended to discuss the war.
