MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Just last month India's prime minister, Narendra Modi, visited Russia, received a warm welcome from President Vladimir Putin. Ukraine was very upset about this. And today Modi paid a visit to Ukraine, the first-ever visit by an Indian leader to Ukraine since it gained independence in 1991. To find out how it went, we're joined by NPR's Greg Myre, who is there in Ukraine. Hey, Greg.
GREG MYRE, BYLINE: Hi, Mary Louise.
KELLY: How was Modi received?
MYRE: Well, quite warmly. Last month Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, didn't hold back when he saw that bear hug between Modi and Putin in Moscow. Zelenskyy called it, quote, "a huge disappointment to see the leader of the world's largest democracy hug the world's most bloody criminal." But on Friday, Zelenskyy and Modi looked like old friends. Modi embraced the Ukrainian president in the same warm manner. They just hugged it out. The two leaders placed flowers at a memorial for children, and Zelenskyy called Modi's visit a, quote, "tribute to the Ukrainian children killed by the Russian army." Publicly, there was no mention of Modi's trip to Russia.
KELLY: So what is going on here? Is this make-nice diplomacy by Modi, or is there something bigger at stake?
MYRE: Yeah. There's certainly a sense in Ukraine that Modi's visit was damage control because his trip to Russia generated bad publicity here and in other western countries. But there are real issues. Modi's been working to strengthen India's relations with western countries on a host of issues, especially security and trade. And Ukraine has a strong interest in Modi's visit as well. Ukraine is looking for more support from countries in the global south. Many have kept their distance in the Russia-Ukraine war. They see it as a European war, where they won't have much say in the outcome. Therefore, it's better to just stand back and stay neutral.
KELLY: Is it right to say that India is threading a very tricky needle here? I mean, you're telling me India, which we know wants a larger role on the global stage, it seems to want good relations with Russia. It seems to also want good relations with Ukraine and its western allies. Can it have all those things at once?
MYRE: Well, that's India's goal. You know, India is famously nonaligned for decades. It seeks strong relations with a wide range of countries and doesn't want to become too close or too dependent on any one of them. But in reality, India has had close ties with Russia for a very long time. Much of India's military hardware comes from Russia, and right now India is a leading buyer of Russian oil. It's a very good deal for India. It gets oil at below market prices. Western sanctions on Russia have forced it to cut the price to find buyers, so India is taking advantage of that, but it's money India is sending to Russia which can fund the war in Ukraine. So it is this tricky balancing act, and we saw it playing out today, as Modi said he supports peace efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war, but he didn't take sides.
KELLY: Greg, while I've got you, update us on that war. We know that both Ukraine and Russia are waging offensives. Right now, they're in each other's territory. Bring us up to speed.
MYRE: Right. Ukraine is still pressing its offensive in Russia's Kursk region. It says it holds nearly a hundred towns and villages. There are skirmishes, but no major Russian counterattack since the Ukrainian invasion began more than two weeks ago. Ukraine has also stepped up longer-range drone attacks. This week, it hit military bases. It hit a port. It hit oil storage facilities well inside Russia. All these attacks caused significant damage.
Now, on the flipside, Russian ground attacks are closing in on a key town in eastern Ukraine, it's Pokrovsk. Ukraine relies on this town as a transportation hub. So for both of these countries, these are some of the most significant gains and some of the most significant losses in the past year.
KELLY: NPR's Greg Myre in Lviv, Ukraine, for us tonight. Thank you, Greg.
MYRE: Sure thing, Mary Louise. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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