Ukraine can’t believe Indian leader met “bloody criminal” Russian ruler on day of children’s hospital bombing.

Ukraine can’t believe Indian leader met “bloody criminal” Russian ruler on day of children’s hospital bombing.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday criticized Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for embracing Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow on the day the Kremlin’s forces bombed a children’s hospital in Kyiv.

“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,” Zelenskyy wrote, referring to the deadly Russian attacks.

Modi arrived in Moscow on Monday for a two-day state visit, marking his first trip to Russia since it began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

In a video clip that went viral Monday evening, Modi climbed out of a car, walked up some steps to meet Putin, and gave the Russian president a warm hug.

  • @UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3•6 months ago

    I hardly see this relationship as a “yay” from Americans.

    American business leadership broke the domestic union movement and monopolized retail sales with overseas outsourcing. It was a huge win for the folks Kissinger represented back home.

    I thought Modi was significantly weakened with the last vote in India.

    His BJP party no longer enjoys a singular majority in Parliament, but the NDA coalition holds a surplus of 21 seats needed for the 272 seat majority. Modi’s policies aren’t going to radically change, but he is forced to include more senior members of friendly parties in his overall cabinet.

    Is this not him aligning with other authoritarian leaders?

    India and Russia have been politically and economically aligned since the end of WW1. A big part of that was the USSR-backed anti-colonialist movement. But India has also relied on Russian surplus agricultural and energy exports for nearly a century.

    Pakistan was the historical western ally in the region, dating back to the CIA-backed military coup in '58. But the War on Terror, which used Pakistan as a launch pad into Afghanistan, burned away significant amounts of Pakistani goodwill. The (highly illegal and hugely unpopular) US invasion into Abadabad, to assassinate Bin Laden, was more or less the last straw. Now Pakistan is increasingly aligning with China, and the US has been forced to court India’s government as an alternative.

    So this isn’t Modi spontaneously aligning with Putin. This is India continuing a long-standing friendly relationship with Russia, while the NATO block nations try to coax/shame Modi away on the grounds that Putin is ontologically evil.