Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke by telephone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday, reaffirming India’s position that the conflict in Ukraine should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy.
According to the government, Zelenskyy shared his perspective on recent developments in the war during the conversation. Modi reiterated India’s human-centric approach to the conflict and expressed New Delhi’s readiness to support efforts towards a peaceful resolution.
The call is the latest in a series of conversations Modi has held with both sides of the war since it began. India has walked a careful line throughout — refusing to condemn Russia outright, buying Russian oil, and at the same time insisting that the war must end and offering to help bring the parties to the table.
That balancing act has been one of the defining features of Indian foreign policy in recent years. New Delhi has argued that it can speak to both Moscow and Kyiv, and that this gives it a credibility as a potential peacemaker that countries aligned firmly with one side do not have. Critics have called the position evasive; the government has called it principled.
The conversation also comes at a moment when diplomatic efforts around the war are in flux. Peace talks have been discussed in various forums, including in Abu Dhabi, but a settlement remains elusive, and the fighting continues. In that context, a call between the Indian Prime Minister and the Ukrainian President is a reminder that the diplomatic channels remain open, even when the battlefield does not.
For Ukraine, keeping India engaged matters. New Delhi is one of the few major capitals that maintains warm relations with Moscow while also deepening ties with Kyiv, and Zelenskyy has repeatedly sought Indian support — both diplomatic and humanitarian — since the war began. India has sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine and has backed the principle of territorial integrity, even as it has stopped short of joining Western sanctions.
For India, the call is also about the wider relationship with Europe. New Delhi’s engagement with Ukraine sits alongside its deepening ties with the European Union, which were also in focus this week with the strategic partnership review in the capital. The two tracks — the EU partnership and the Ukraine conversation — are part of the same diplomatic picture.
No breakthrough was announced, and none was expected. But the call itself is the message: India is still talking, still offering to help, and still insisting that the war ends at a negotiating table, not on a battlefield.
