Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Kyiv on August 23, where he will hold talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky, "Kyiv Independent" reported.
The historic visit is the first time an Indian Prime Minister has set foot in Ukraine since the establishment of diplomatic relations more than 30 years ago.
"Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is already in Kiev," Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksiy Goncharenko confirmed in a Telegram post.
Modi's visit to Ukraine comes just weeks after a trip to Moscow where he held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The visit included a widely criticized embrace between the two leaders on July 8, hours after Russia bombed the Okhmatdi Children's Hospital in Kiev, killing two people.
A historical ally of Russia, India has maintained close economic and diplomatic ties with Moscow since February 2022, with bilateral trade reaching an all-time high in 2023.
In June, Modi met Zelensky in Italy during the G7 summit. They discussed the ongoing situation in Ukraine, with Modi stressing the importance of "dialogue and diplomacy".
He affirmed that India would continue to support a peaceful resolution of the issue, according to the official brochure of the meeting.
India is calling for a diplomatic solution to Russia's war on Ukraine, but at the same time it is developing close economic ties with Moscow.
After Western sanctions, India became one of the main buyers of Russian oil, although the pressure of US sanctions increasingly threatens this trade.
Although India participated in the World Peace Summit in Ukraine in June, Modi did not attend in person and ultimately the Indian representative did not sign the joint communiqué.
Modi was also one of the few democratically elected leaders to congratulate Putin on his re-election in March after a vote that was widely seen as neither free nor fair. | BGNES
