Prime Minister Narendra Modi exchanged greetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on his arrival at Mariinsky Palace, in Kyiv on Friday (August 23, 2024).
| Photo Credit: ANI

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday (August 23, 2024) that India supported his country’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity, underscoring that New Delhi’s support was “critical” because everyone in the world must equally respect the UN Charter.

“Today, history was made. The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, made his first visit to Ukraine since our country’s independence, on the eve of our Independence Day,” Mr. Zelenskyy posted on X (formerly Twitter) after holding talks with PM Narendra Modi.

Mr. Modi arrived in Kyiv this morning on a special train on the first-ever visit to Ukraine by an Indian Prime Minister after it became independent in 1991.

Mr. Zelenskyy noted that four documents between Ukraine and India, covering the medical field, agricultural cooperation, humanitarian relations, and culture, were signed.

Also Read: PM Modi in Ukraine highlights: India hands over BHISHM cubes to Ukraine

Following the visit, “we also agreed on a joint statement focusing on the development of a strategic partnership, bilateral trade, and continued military-technical cooperation.”

“India supports Ukraine’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity. And this is critical because everyone in the world must equally respect the UN Charter,” Mr. Zelenskyy emphasised.

In his talks with Mr. Zelenskyy that took place under the shadow of the raging war, Mr. Modi said India is ever ready to play an “active role” in every effort to restore peace in Ukraine and he would even like to contribute personally in ending the conflict.

“We [India] are not neutral. From the very beginning, we have taken sides. And we have chosen the side of peace. We have come from the land of Buddha where there is no place for war,” Mr. Modi said in his opening remarks during the talks.

“We have come from the land of Mahatma Gandhi who had given a message of peace to the entire world,” he said.

The Prime Minister also asserted India’s strong commitment towards respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states.

Also Read: Four pacts inked as PM Modi ends ‘landmark’ Ukraine visit

“I want to assure you and the entire global community that India is committed to respecting sovereignty and territorial integrity (of states) and it is of utmost importance to us,” he said.

Mr. Modi also apprised Mr. Zelenskyy of his conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Samarkand in September 2022 as well as in Moscow last month.

“Some time back, when I met President Putin in Samarkand, I had told him that this was not the era of war. Last month when I went to Russia, I said in clear words that a solution to any problem is never found on the battlefield,” Mr. Modi said.

“The solution comes through talks, dialogue and diplomacy and we should move ahead in that direction without wasting time. Both sides should sit together and find ways to come out of this crisis,” Mr. Modi said.

The Prime Minister’s visit to Kyiv is seen in many quarters as a diplomatic balancing act as his trip to Russia triggered anguish among some Western countries.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said Mr. Modi reiterated the need for “practical engagement” between all stakeholders to develop an innovative solution that will help build broad acceptability and contribute towards peace and stability.

The Prime Minister conveyed to Mr. Zelenskyy India’s willingness to contribute in “all possible ways” to facilitate an early return of peace to Ukraine, he told journalists.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during presentation of BHISHM cube to Ukraine, in Kyiv, on August 23, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar on Friday (August 23, 2024) said that India has handed over 10 BHISHM cubes, which contain medical support equipment of 22 tonnes along with 10 generator sets.

PM Modi in Ukraine LIVE

The presentation of the Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita and Maitri (BHISHM) cubes has been one of the key highlights of the ongoing visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to war-affected Ukraine.

The BHISHM Cubes, also known as Arokya Maitri cubes, are critical trauma care cubes that have been indigenously developed by Project BHISHM under Project Aarogya Maitri .

Spearheaded by HLL Life Care, the government’s designated agency for sourcing the kit, and manufactured by multiple sellers collaborating to provide a diverse range of essential medical products, this project was initiated in 2022 through the Ministry of Defence.

The BHISHM cubes are an easy-to-use, mobile medical facility that can be swiftly deployed to save lives in the most challenging circumstances. It can provide critical medical care to 100 survivors for up to 48 hours, making it a lifeline on remote and tough terrains where immediate medical attention is needed.

According to reports, the aid cube is equipped with several innovative tools designed to enhance disaster response and medical support during emergencies. It integrates Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data analytics to facilitate effective coordination, real-time monitoring, and efficient management of medical services in the field.

Each cube consists of a fully equipped operation theatre, mini-ICUs, ventilators, blood-testing equipment, an X-ray machine, and even a cooking station. It also includes a shelter facility and power generator, making it entirely self-sufficient during emergencies.

The life-saving equipment are packed in a set of “mini-cubes” and a combination of these mini-cubes is used to set up a mobile hospital capable of performing life-saving surgery. The mini-cubes are carried in a “Aarogya Maitri Cube Cage”, which has three frames, each accommodating 12 mini-cubes. An Aarogya Maitri Cube Cage can fit 36 mini-cubes overall.

Earlier, the central government in collaboration with the Indian Air Force and Indian Army carried out a first-of-its-kind precise para-drop operation of the Aarogya Maitri Health Cube at a high-altitude area close to 15,000 feet on August 17, 2024. It was also deployed at Ayodhya for the inauguration ceremony, the ‘Pran Pratishtha,’ of the Ram Mandir on 22nd January.

India has already gifted these units as a goodwill gesture to Sri Lanka and Myanmar.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi emplanes for Poland’s Rzeszow from capital Warsaw on August 22, 2024. Photo: X/@MEAIndia via PTI

The symbolism and balancing act aside, Prime Minster Narendra Modi’s visit to Ukraine, the first by an Indian Prime Minister, will focus on cooperation in defence, with India operating a large inventory of military equipment of both Russian and Ukrainian origin.

In the three years since the war in Ukraine, India has seen supplies and spares held up for some time and has attempted to diversify and reduce dependence by turning to domestic companies as well as seeking alternate vendor base in other countries.

The situation has improved since and spares, components and supplies have started coming, though not to the pre-war levels, according to official sources. Both Russia and Ukraine have assured that they would ensure timely deliveries though it is not up to the earlier schedules yet, the sources said.

Sources said Ukraine has several cutting-edge systems and technologies many of which are battle-tested. It has expressed interest in forming joint ventures with Indian companies.

The war in Ukraine in February 2022 impacted all three services of the Indian military that have huge inventories both from Russia and Ukraine. Immediately after the war began, the Indian Army terminated several contracts related to air defence, armour and artillery as it faced escalation in prices from other countries since spares and supplies became scarce and were diverted, shooting up prices, officials said. Further, quality claim resolutions became very time consuming.

The Army turned to indigenous defence manufacturers for smaller components and sub-assemblies. This was also done by the Navy and Indian Air Force (IAF).

“The Army has reached out to domestic vendors, tried to minimise imports of spares, assemblies and so on to the extent possible and diversified the vendor base where domestic options were not available to about 7-8 countries notably Poland, Estonia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic among others,” a source said. The indigenous push was particularly in small components and ammunitions, officials said.

With Russia, there has been an added element of payments as Russia was shunted out of the global SWIFT system and the rupee-rouble trade couldn’t cater to large payments.

The impact of such tensions is not entirely new as in the past, tensions between Russia and Ukraine had considerably delayed the modernisation of the IAF’s AN-32 transport fleet. Ukraine upgraded over 100 AN-32 transport aircraft of the IAF under a deal finalised in 2009. While upgrade of 45 AN-32s in Ukraine was completed in 2015, remaining aircraft were to be upgraded by IAF Base Repair Depot, Kanpur which got considerably delayed.

For the Indian Navy, probably the impact is as acute, if not more, as over 30 frontline warships are powered by engines from Zorya Nashproekt of Ukraine. Indian Navy drew a roadmap to achieve a certain level of servicing locally in the next few years. In addition, Zorya is tying up with an Indian company to carry out certain level of engine maintenance reducing the need to ship engines to Ukraine, sources stated.

Defence trade between India and Ukraine continued till just before 2022. For instance, after the Balakot air strike in 2019, IAF made emergency procurement of R-27 air to air missiles for its SU-30MKI fighters. At Aero India in February 2021, Ukraine signed four agreements worth $70 million which includes sale of new weapons as well as maintenance and upgrades of existing ones in service with the Indian military, as reported by The Hindu earlier.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi emplanes for Poland’s Rzeszow from capital Warsaw on August 22, 2024. Photo: X/@MEAIndia via PTI

The symbolism and balancing act aside, Prime Minster Narendra Modi’s visit to Ukraine, the first by an Indian Prime Minister, will focus on cooperation in defence, with India operating a large inventory of military equipment of both Russian and Ukrainian origin.

In the three years since the war in Ukraine, India has seen supplies and spares held up for some time and has attempted to diversify and reduce dependence by turning to domestic companies as well as seeking alternate vendor base in other countries.

The situation has improved since and spares, components and supplies have started coming, though not to the pre-war levels, according to official sources. Both Russia and Ukraine have assured that they would ensure timely deliveries though it is not up to the earlier schedules yet, the sources said.

Sources said Ukraine has several cutting-edge systems and technologies many of which are battle-tested. It has expressed interest in forming joint ventures with Indian companies.

The war in Ukraine in February 2022 impacted all three services of the Indian military that have huge inventories both from Russia and Ukraine. Immediately after the war began, the Indian Army terminated several contracts related to air defence, armour and artillery as it faced escalation in prices from other countries since spares and supplies became scarce and were diverted, shooting up prices, officials said. Further, quality claim resolutions became very time consuming.

The Army turned to indigenous defence manufacturers for smaller components and sub-assemblies. This was also done by the Navy and Indian Air Force (IAF).

“The Army has reached out to domestic vendors, tried to minimise imports of spares, assemblies and so on to the extent possible and diversified the vendor base where domestic options were not available to about 7-8 countries notably Poland, Estonia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic among others,” a source said. The indigenous push was particularly in small components and ammunitions, officials said.

With Russia, there has been an added element of payments as Russia was shunted out of the global SWIFT system and the rupee-rouble trade couldn’t cater to large payments.

The impact of such tensions is not entirely new as in the past, tensions between Russia and Ukraine had considerably delayed the modernisation of the IAF’s AN-32 transport fleet. Ukraine upgraded over 100 AN-32 transport aircraft of the IAF under a deal finalised in 2009. While upgrade of 45 AN-32s in Ukraine was completed in 2015, remaining aircraft were to be upgraded by IAF Base Repair Depot, Kanpur which got considerably delayed.

For the Indian Navy, probably the impact is as acute, if not more, as over 30 frontline warships are powered by engines from Zorya Nashproekt of Ukraine. Indian Navy drew a roadmap to achieve a certain level of servicing locally in the next few years. In addition, Zorya is tying up with an Indian company to carry out certain level of engine maintenance reducing the need to ship engines to Ukraine, sources stated.

Defence trade between India and Ukraine continued till just before 2022. For instance, after the Balakot air strike in 2019, IAF made emergency procurement of R-27 air to air missiles for its SU-30MKI fighters. At Aero India in February 2021, Ukraine signed four agreements worth $70 million which includes sale of new weapons as well as maintenance and upgrades of existing ones in service with the Indian military, as reported by The Hindu earlier.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands after a press conference at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister in Warsaw, Poland, August 22, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was greeted on Thursday (August 22, 2024) by his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk before heading to Kyiv for top-level meetings.

Mr. Modi and Mr. Tusk met for talks on security, the war on Ukraine by India’s strategic partner Russia, and invigorating bilateral ties. They were expected to make statements, and later the Indian leader is to meet with Poland’s President Andrzej Duda.

Ahead of his visit, Mr. Modi said Poland was India’s key economy partner in Central Europe.

The two leaders are expected to sign bilateral strategic cooperation agreements covering cybersecurity and the defence sector.

Sitting on the eastern flank of NATO and the European Union, Poland is concerned about the two-year-old war across its eastern border. It’s offered political, humanitarian and defense support to Ukraine.

Kyiv chastised Mr. Modi for a visit to Moscow last month, during which he met and hugged President Vladimir Putin. Modi has avoided condemning Russia while emphasizing a peaceful settlement to the war in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the meeting as a “huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts.” He also chided Mr. Modi for hugging Mr. Putin during their meeting.

Mr. Modi’s visit to Poland also marks 70 years of official bilateral relations between New Delhi and Warsaw.

According to figures cited by the Embassy of India, the total value of bilateral trade increased from $1.95 billion to $5.72 billion from 2013-2023, with India’s exports accounting for a majority.

Then-Indian President Pratibha Patil visited Poland in 2009, and Mr. Tusk, during his first term as Prime Minister, paid a visit to India in 2010.

On Friday, Mr. Modi travels to Kyiv to meet with Mr. Zelensky.