Jaishankar discusses bilateral ties with his Ukrainian counterpart

The phone conversation between the two foreign ministers came in the backdrop of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s criticism of Modi’s visit to Moscow.

On July 9, the Ukrainian president described Modi’s visit to Moscow as a “huge” disappointment and a “devastating blow” to peace efforts.

In a post on X, Zelenskyy specifically referred to Russia’s missile attacks on Ukraine, including on a children’s hospital in Kyiv. “A Russian missile struck the largest children’s hospital in Ukraine, targeting young cancer patients. Many were buried under the rubble,” Zelenskyy had said.

“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,” he said.

Modi visited Moscow on July 8 and 9, his first trip to Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In his summit talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Modi said a solution to the Ukraine conflict is not possible on the battlefield and peace talks do not succeed amidst bombs, guns and bullets.

In his televised remarks, Modi said the killing of innocent children is heart-wrenching and very painful, in a reference to the strike on the Kyiv hospital.