India Narrative

Calling it as "another production by the Kiev regime for the Western media'', Russia has slammed accusations of allegedly killing civilians in Bucha, a town about 26 kms northwest of the Ukrainian capital. Russian troops have been accused of committing atrocities as photos and videos from Bucha depicting killing of civilians in Ukraine have gone viral on social media. While the United Kingdom said that increasing evidence of appalling acts by the invading forces in towns such as Irpin and Bucha is emerging as the Russian troops are forced into retreat, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Sunday called for an independent investigation, saying he is "deeply shocked" by the images of civilians killed in Bucha. "You can't help but see these images as a punch to the gut. And look, we've said before Russia's aggression that we thought it was likely that they would commit atrocities," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Washingto

Russia's government said on Thursday that it had proposed in draft legislation allowing foreign planes leased by Russian airlines to be registered as the airlines' property. Western aircraft owners are facing a situation where they could lose hundreds of Airbus and Boeing commercial jets that Russian airlines have effectively kept away from seizure Foreign leasing firms have succeeded in repossessing only about two dozen of the more than 500 aircraft rented to Russian carriers, said Dean Gerber, general counsel for Valkyrie BTO Aviation. The planes in limbo have a market value of about $10.3 billion, according to a Bloomberg report that cited estimates from aviation analytics firm Ishka.   Technically, lessors have until March 28 to cancel contracts under European Union sanctions. But state-owned Aeroflot PJSC and other airlines have already flown back most of the planes to Russia where they are out of reach of their owners.  This had followed the ban on Russian flights under w

As Russia's special operations in Ukraine entered its 14th day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Ukraine will no longer be seeking NATO membership as the alliance is not prepared to accept Ukraine and is afraid to confront Russia. "I have cooled down regarding this question a long time ago after we understood that ... NATO is not prepared to accept Ukraine," Zelensky said in an interview, Monday night on ABC News. He has also said that he is open to "compromise" on the status of two breakaway pro-Russian territories that President Vladimir Putin recognised as independent just before unleashing the invasion on February 24. Finally, Zelensky may be getting it right when he said that he does not want to be president of a "country which is begging (for) something on its knees". The West has been eulogizing and lionizing him and the Ukrainian people, while demonizing Russia and its actions in Ukraine. Yet, it has done very little to help

  Furious at NATO’s decision to stay out of the conflict, Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, has warned that his country, battling Russian forces, could develop atomic weapons. “All that the alliance (NATO) could do today was to allocate some 50 tons of diesel fuel for Ukraine through its procurement system,” Zelensky said, in a videotaped address. In a veiled nuclear threat, he added: “Probably, it’s for us so that we can burn the Budapest Memorandum. To make it burn better. But for us it has already burned down in the fire of the Russian troops,” Zelensky was referring to the 1994 document, which guided Ukraine’s surrender of its nuclear arsenal inherited from the former Soviet Union. The memorandum gave security assurances to three ex-Soviet countries—Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus—following which, along with other agreements signed between 1993-96, the trio gave up its atomic weapons. The war between Russia and Ukraine has already exposed a nuclear dimension, including

India has once again appealed to Russia and Ukraine to have a local ceasefire in the eastern Ukrainian city of Sumy so that it can evacuate hundreds of its citizens, mainly students, who have been stuck in the region for a long time now. According to the Indian authorities' estimate, there are about 700-plus, or even a little higher, number of Indian students still stuck in a conflict situation in Sumy and another 300 people left in Kharkiv. Reports suggest that Russia has arranged about 103 buses on its side of the border near Kharkiv to help in evacuation of the Indian students. However, the location of buses remains about 50-60 kilometres away from where the Indian students are. "They're frankly, too far away for them to just walk in and take it. This is a conflict zone and we don't see a safe and secure way to reach them. In fact, I would appeal and urge the parties concerned to have a local ceasefire, at least so that we can go to those buses if that is a suggest

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in a Quad Leaders' virtual meeting later today along with the US President Joe Biden, Australian PM Scott Morrison, and Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida. The meeting takes place against the backdrop of ongoing crisis in Ukraine with India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stating that the four leaders will exchange views and assessments about "important developments in the Indo-Pacific". This will be the first meeting of the Quad grouping since the start of Russia-Ukraine crisis . Last month, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had participated in the 4th Quad Foreign Ministers' meeting in Melbourne, along with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the foreign ministers of Japan and Australia. "The Leaders will have an opportunity to continue their dialogue after the September 2021 Summit in Washington DC. They will exchange views and assessments about important developments in the Indo-Pacific,&qu

Japan Airlines Co Ltd (JAL) and ANA Holdings Inc said they would cancel all flights to and from Europe on Thursday due to safety concerns that have arisen in the wake of Russia's military operation in Ukraine. The two Japanese commercial airlines operate about 60 flights per week through Russian airspace between Tokyo and London, Paris, Frankfurt, and Helsinki, according to a spokesperson for flight tracking website FlightRadar24. The airlines, which normally use Russian airspace for their Europe flights, join a growing number of carriers that have cancelled or rerouted flights between Europe and north Asia due to the Ukraine crisis . "We are continuously monitoring the situation, but given the present situation in Ukraine and the different risks, we have decided to cancel flights," Reuters cited a JAL spokesperson as saying. ANA Cargo's website said the suspension of flights was due to the "high possibility of its operations not being able to overfly Russia due

  Responding to reports of Indian students being held hostage in Ukraine, India on Thursday denied any such "hostage situation", saying it continues to coordinate with several countries in the region to evacuate its citizens at the earliest from the conflict zone. "Our embassy in Ukraine is in continuous touch with Indian nationals in Ukraine. We note that with the cooperation of the Ukrainian authorities, many students have left Kharkiv yesterday. We have not received any reports of any hostage situation regarding any student," Arindam Bagchi, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson said today. "We have requested support of the Ukrainian authorities in arranging special trains for taking out students from Kharkiv and neighbouring areas to the western part of the country," he added. The Russian defence ministry had said on Wednesday that it has received information about the Ukrainian authorities forcibly keeping a large group of Indian student

While the world is focused on dealing with the crisis in Ukraine, China is trying its best to gain control over the vast minerals of Afghanistan. Beijing has had its eye on the country’s vast mineral resources ever since the Taliban took over last year and Chinese companies are discussing mining rights and research access with the Kabul regime. “Chinese mining companies have been scouting opportunities to access Afghanistan’s  lithium & copper deposits. Chinese mining industry representatives met with Taliban officials to discuss mining rights and research access to such minerals,” says Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) in its latest report. According to the report, Afghanistan’s s lithium deposits could be among the largest in the world, rivaling those of Bolivia. Although Afghanistan has vast mineral resources, most projects in extractive activities require a 5 to 10 years lead time, and will require significant improvements in security and a more i

  Vladimir Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, has accused the West of leaving his country alone after Russia launched a special military operation in the Donbass region on Thursday. Addressing the Ukrainians in the early hours of Friday, Zelensky said that his country had to defend itself on its own "no matter how many conversations" he has had with the leaders of other countries till now. "I heard a few things. The first is that we are supported. And I am grateful to each state that helps Ukraine specifically. Not just words," said Zelensky in his address after the end of the first day of Russia's operation. "But there is another - we are left alone in defence of our state. Who is ready to fight with us? I do not see such. Who is ready to guarantee Ukraine's accession to NATO? Everyone is afraid," he added. Also Read:  Ukraine crisis: PM Modi speaks to Russian President Putin, appeals for an immediate cessation of violence Visibly shaken by the d

  Russian President Vladimir Putin today announced that he had decided on a special military operation in eastern Ukraine's Donbass region after the Kremlin received requests from the breakaway region for help in repelling threats from Kiev. "Kiev is continuing its military buildup along the line of disengagement, simultaneously receiving comprehensive support, including military one, from the United States and other Western states. The Kiev regime is determined to resolve the conflict by force," the letters to Putin said according to Russian news agency Tass. Also Read:  At the UN, India rejects war - says Ukraine situation should be resolved through quiet diplomacy Putin had on Monday signed decrees, announcing immediate recognition of the "independence and sovereignty" of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic while deploying troops into "independent republics" for peacekeeping functions. "Circumstances require

  The developing crisis over Ukraine and the uncertainties of conflict that lie ahead provide an occasion to reflect on the historical role of Europe in disturbing peace, engendering conflicts, violating human rights worldwide and building its prosperity on colonial and imperial excesses. European rivalries triggered two devastating world wars in the 20th century. Even before that, European history is full of conflicts within Europe and those generated by colonial rivalries abroad. Terrible atrocities were committed by the Europeans against other races, including slave trade. Aboriginal populations were destroyed in many continents. The process of burying European rivalries in structures of European unity exemplified by the European Union has been projected as an emblematic success in overcoming history and making Europe a haven of peace, with pooling of sovereignty and developing a new international vocation of promoting human rights and liberal values across the world as weapons of i