Modi to visit Ukraine, weeks after Kyiv condemned Indian PM for hugging Putin in Moscow

(CNN) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Ukraine, officials said Monday, weeks after he made his first trip to Moscow since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

His forthcoming visit to Ukraine - also his first since the start of the war – comes at a crucial moment, as Kyiv’s troops push further into Russian territory in a shock military offensive that stunned even Kyiv’s closest allies.

Modi has repeatedly called for a ceasefire in Ukraine, without condemning Russia’s aerial campaign or denouncing the ground invasion. India has also abstained from all resolutions on Ukraine at the United Nations.

India remains heavily reliant on the Kremlin for its military equipment and has ramped up purchases of discounted Russian crude oil, giving Russian President Vladimir Putin’s nation a major financial lifeline as it faces isolation from the West.

Modi will visit Ukraine on August 23 at the invitation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, India’s Ministry of External Affairs announced Monday.

“The upcoming visit of Prime Minister Modi to Ukraine will provide an opportunity to hold discussions on the entire gamut of bilateral relations,” the ministry’s secretary for the West, Tanmaya Lal, said in a briefing.

The secretary reiterated that India has “maintained a very clear and consistent position that diplomacy and dialogue can resolve this conflict.” She said that “lasting peace” can only be achieved through a negotiated settlement.

Modi’s trip will also include a visit to Poland on August 21-22 – the first by an Indian prime minister in 45 years, the ministry said.

The trip comes a month after Modi visited Putin in July – a sign that the two nations remain close. Images and video showed the two leaders hugging, chatting over tea, riding in an electric vehicle and watching a horse show.

Zelensky condemned the meeting that coincided with a brazen assault on several Ukrainian cities and a deadly strike on a children’s hospital.

The Ukrainian leader described the meeting as 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.”

Modi did not address the strikes directly during his trip, but did say solutions to conflict are unlikely to come through war, but rather peace and dialogue. The remarks appeared to be his most critical comments to date against Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“Whether it’s conflict, war or terror, any person who believes in humanity is troubled when there are deaths, especially when innocent children die,” Modi said while seated alongside the Russian president.

“As a friend, I have always said that peace is necessary for the prosperity of future generations, but I also know that on the battlefield, solutions aren’t easy to come by between guns, bombs and bullets. We have to adopt a path to peace through dialogue,” he added.

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