Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Ukraine on August 23, says the Ministry of External Affairs. Ministry of External Affairs has confirmed that the Indian prime minister will be visiting Kyiv and meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Modi's visit to Ukraine will mark his first since Russia's invasion in 2022.
Before travelling to Ukraine, Modi will pay a two-day visit to Poland on August 21 and 22.
MEA On PM Modi's Ukraine Visit
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), announcing Modi's August 23 trip, said it would be a "landmark and historic" visit, the first by an Indian prime minister to Ukraine since diplomatic ties were established between the two countries over 30 years back.
The prime minister will travel to Kyiv from Poland in a train that will take around 10 hours. The return trip will also be of the same duration, people familiar with the matter said.
"India has substantive and independent ties with both Russia and Ukraine and these partnerships stand on their own," Tanmaya Lal, Secretary (West) in the MEA said at a media briefing.
The visit will build on continuing engagement between India and Ukraine, he said.
"I would like to say that this is not a zero-sum game. The prime minister had also travelled to Russia. Many ideas were discussed," Lal said.
"The prime minister also met President Zelenskyy on a couple of occasions in the last one year or so and they will now be meeting again in Ukraine," he said.
"I would like to say that these are independent broad ties and of course the ongoing conflict will form part of the discussions," he added.
He said Modi-Zelenskyy talks are expected to focus on the entire gamut of India-Ukraine ties including in areas of agriculture, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, health and education, defence, and people-to-people ties.
Asked whether India is interested in reconstruction of Ukraine, Lal said New Delhi is willing to provide all support and contribution that may be required not only to find a peaceful solution to the conflict but also in the recovery process.
India, which has established close ties with Russia, has refrained from directly blaming Moscow for its "special military operation" in Ukraine. However, at the G20 Summit 2023 in New Delhi, India called for peace at all fronts - in Ukraine and in Gaza - and had the same signed by G20 countries in the New Delhi Declaration.
Earlier this year, PM Modi visited Russia and met with President Vladimir Putin. This was the leaders' first meet since their respective re-elections and PM Modi's first since Moscow's invasion fo Ukraine.
PM Modi's visit was also condemned by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy's criticism for Modi came after photos of Modi and Putin's meet were circulated, at the same time, Russia launched air strikes at a children's hospital in central Kyiv.
"It is 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," stated Zelenskyy on X, without naming PM Modi.
