Indian PM Modi likely to visit Ukraine in August, local media reports

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Ukraine next month, a local media report said, his first visit to the country since its war with Russia began and just weeks after he met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Ukraine’s embassy in New Delhi said it had no information to share immediately. There was no immediate response from India’s foreign ministry.

Western countries have imposed sanctions on Moscow following its all-out invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but “friendly” nations such as India and China have continued to trade.

India has refrained from directly blaming Russia, while urging the two nations to resolve their conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.

Modi met Putin just as a Russian missile struck a hospital in Kyiv killing at least 41 people. The Indian leader told Putin that the death of innocent children was “painful and terrifying”.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy expressed unhappiness over Modi’s visit, calling it a “huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts” to see him hug “the world’s most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day”.

Russia denied striking the hospital.

The U.S. State Department has raised concerns over India’s relationship with Russia especially at a time when it has been seeking to strengthen ties with India as a potential counterweight to an ascendant China.

New Delhi is seeking to deepen its relationship with the West while keeping ties intact with Russia.

The final date of Modi’s visit is not yet confirmed, The Print reported on Saturday.