“PM Modi can influence the end of the Ukraine war. This is the huge value of him in any conflict. This is the huge value of India,” said Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an exclusive interview to the Times of India. When asked about the possibility of PM Modi holding negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, Zelenskyy gave his strongest signal yet, “Undoubtedly it can be in India and PM Modi can really do that… but I think we need to prepare ourselves … and only according to our format because the war is in our land… we have the platform which is the peace summit.”
Ukrainian forces have been under pressure in recent months with Russia making advances in the Donbas region. Add to this the uncertainty posed by the upcoming presidential elections in US where a Trump victory might see Kyiv lose vital American support. Washington is Kyiv’s biggest source of military aid and any cut in this support will be a huge setback for Ukraine. Kyiv already faces restrictions in using American supplied long-range weapons to hit Russian military targets deep inside Russia. With winter coming and Russia continuing to hit Ukrainian energy infrastructure, Kyiv is looking at another bleak few months.
“This is the third hard winter for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people… We are step-by-step strengthening our energy systems and aren’t just going to allow Russia to kill our people,” said Zelenskyy. Asked about his recently revealed Victory Plan and Nato membership for Ukraine, Zelenskyy emphasised that it was a bid to strengthen Ukraine as a bridge to peace negotiations to end the war. “The Victory Plan is not a bargaining chip or a topic of negotiations with Russia… We are not asking for quick Nato membership because that is not possible during the war … What we are asking for is invitation to Nato so that in the future nobody can change their opinion.”
‘There can’t be neutrality between aggressor & victim. It only means you’re with Russia’: Zelenskyy
Zelenskyy was also critical about the recent Brics summit in Russia calling it a failure and citing the absence of some countries at the leaders’ level including those from Saudi Arabia and Brazil. “Putin wants to divide the world into so-called West-plus and Brics-plus… Even the (peace) proposals of Brazil and China were not acceptable to him… This was a slap for China and Brazil.”
On Modi’s statement that he is ready to work to bring peace in Ukraine, Zelenskyy called for action, not mere words. “Modi is the PM of a really huge country… Such a country cannot just say we are interested in the end of the war… PM Modi can influence the end of the war… blocking of Russian economy, blocking of cheap energy resource, blocking of defence-industrial complex of Russia will lead to the decrease in capacity of Moscow to wage wars against us.”
Specifically, Zelenskyy asked Modi for help to bring back Ukrainian children forcibly deported to Russia, “You can force Putin to bring back Ukrainian children… PM Modi can use his influence and tell Putin just give me 1,000 Ukrainian children who will be brought back to Ukraine. Let PM Modi bring back at least 1,000 Ukrainian children.”
