India Narrative

  The liberation of Donbass region in southeastern Ukraine remains the "ultimate goal" of Moscow's ongoing 'special military operation', Russian President Vladimir Putin said in Ashgabat Wednesday evening. After wrapping up his visit to Tajikistan, Putin travelled to Turkmenistan's capital city to participate in the 6th Caspian Summit. The Presidents of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan also took part in the meeting of the heads of state of the Caspian Five. On the sidelines of the event, Putin told reporters that everything was going "according to plan" in Ukraine. "The ultimate goal I have outlined is the liberation of Donbass, the protection of these people and the creation of conditions that would guarantee the security of Russia itself. That's all. The work is going smoothly, rhythmically. As you can see, the troops are moving and reaching those lines that are set as a task at a certain stage of this combat work," he sa

After Egypt, many more countries are now looking to purchase wheat from India. Egypt, the world’s largest importer of wheat, is already looking to source the cereal from India after the Russia-Ukraine war dented supplies. Most of Egypt’s wheat until now came from Ukraine. Several other countries from Europe and West Asia are also expected to soon start purchasing Indian wheat.  Besides Egypt, the other large wheat importing countries are China, Turkey, Nigeria and Indonesia.  After exporting a record 7.85 million tonnes of wheat in 2021-22, India’s worldwide supply of the grain could touch 20 million tonnes this financial year amid rising concerns over food security as the Russia-Ukraine crisis deepens. Russia and Ukraine accounted for about a third of the total global wheat exports estimated at around 180 million tonnes. “For India, new markets for wheat exports are opening up. Egypt has already placed orders..we are expecting many new markets to start buying the grain from us. Many c

After more than a month of the Russian invasion into Ukraine, the war is moving into an uncertain direction with no respite to the former’s onslaught on the latter causing unimaginable death, destruction and dislocation of innocent people. About 3.8 million people have already left for neighbouring European countries with Poland bearing the largest burden of hosting them. As the Russians make further advances into more Ukrainian cities, including in the western part of the country which remained unaffected till some time back, more people are likely to move out putting enormous pressure on bordering countries. While the Ukrainians are putting up a heroic resistance to the Russian attack, the military balance in terms of tanks, rockets, missiles and airpower are so much tilted in favour of the Russians that it is a question of time when Kyiv, Mariupol and Kharkiv will also fall to the Russians. Russians and Ukrainian negotiators are conducting their sixth round of talks in Istanbul in T

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

The Ukraine war brings into light once again the irrelevance of the UN charter and all the noble principles and values that powerful states swear by in their conduct of international and state-to-state relations and how they are sacrificed at the altar of their self-perceived national interests and security. Right or wrong, powerful states can present their narratives in a manner that can justify their invasion of a weaker country and can get away. The US has done it in Iraq in the past, and now the Russians are doing it in Ukraine. The US called Sadaam Hussein an abominable dictator with his WMD posing a threat to the regional security and the Russians calling the regime in Kyiv neo-Nazis and drug addicts who must be overthrown even at the cost of pulverizing the country with rockets and missile carpet bombing. The victims are always innocent people including women and children. When two elephants fight with each other, it is the grass that suffers, so the saying goes. Behind the int

  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

Russia’s central bank has decided to allow its domestic payment system to go international as many Russian banks have been disconnected from the SWIFT global payment mechanism following sanctions from the US and European Union. Even as Russia had the second largest number of SWIFT users after the US, the Financial Message Transfer System of the Bank of Russia (SPFS) has been gaining acceptance with already about 399 users. Bank of Russia Governor Elvira Nabiullina said that this payment system “will continue to operate smoothly.” The payment system, which until now has been catering only to the domestic users, was developed by the Central Bank of Russia since 2014 after the US government threatened to disconnect Moscow from the SWIFT system. Read more

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

  Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday discussed the crisis in Ukraine with French President Emmanuel Macron, Polish President Andrzej Duda and European Council President Charles Michel, and shared India’s concerns over the issue. He emphasised India’s consistent appeal for “cessation of hostilities and a return to dialogue and diplomacy” during his conversation with all three leaders, according to official statements. President Macron and Prime Minister Modi shared their “concerns over continuing hostilities and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Ukraine,” according to an official statement. PM Modi stressed India’s belief that respect for international law, the UN Charter and the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all states “underpin the contemporary world order”. Modi welcomed the talks between Ukraine and Russia and stressed the importance of “ensuring free and uninterrupted humanitarian access and smooth movement of all people”. He briefed Macron about India’s e

  Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who is overseeing the evacuation efforts of Indian nationals stranded in Ukraine as a Government of India-appointed special envoy, on Wednesday (local time) met the Indian Ambassador to Romania and Moldova, Rahul Shrivastava to discuss the operational issues for evacuation and the flight plan from Bucharest and Suceava in the coming days. "Met the Indian Ambassador to Romania & Moldova, Sh Rahul Shrivastava Ji to discuss the operational issues for evacuation and the flight plan from Bucharest & Suceava in the coming days. #OperationGanga in full gear!" Scindia tweeted. The ministers informed that Moldova's borders have been opened for incoming Indian students and talks are underway to make arrangements for their journey to Bucharest for onward flight to India. "Moldova's borders have been opened for incoming Indian students. Proper shelter and food arrangements will be made. Talks are on to make arrangements

  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