Indian PM Modi to visit Ukraine in August, media reports say

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to travel to Kyiv in August, marking his first visit to Ukraine since Russia launched its all-out war in February 2022.

The visit, still in the planning stages, is expected to occur in the third week of August, likely sometime around Ukraine's Independence Day, according to WION, India's English language news channel, who spoke with several sources in Delhi's diplomatic circles. Earlier this year, President Volodymyr Zelensky extended an invitation to Modi during a telephone conversation.

This month witnessed high-level exchanges between the two countries. External Affairs Minister (EAM) Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, as well as National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and his Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Yermak, held telephone discussions.

Following these talks, Jaishankar shared on social media that the discussions focused on "further developing our bilateral relationship."

In June, Modi met with Zelensky in Italy during the G7 summit. They discussed the ongoing situation in Ukraine, with Modi emphasizing the importance of "dialogue and diplomacy." He reiterated that India would continue to support a peaceful resolution, according to the meeting's official handout.

This marked the second in-person meeting between the two leaders since the all-out war began, the first being at last year's G7 summit in Japan. Given the closure of Ukrainian airspace, world leaders have been traveling to Ukraine via Poland. It is expected that Modi will follow this route and hold discussions with Polish leadership, including Prime Minister Donald Tusk, ahead of his visit to Ukraine.

Kuleba calls on Hong Kong to close sanctions circumvention routes for Russia

Ukraine’s foreign minister said that these restrictive measures are necessary to “weaken Russia’s potential to wage war and kill people in Ukraine.”

The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Hodunova