Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Ukraine, the Ministry of External Affairs announced.
Weeks after Kyiv condemned him for hugging President Vladimir Putin during a visit to traditional ally Russia.
New Delhi's foreign ministry did not give a date for the visit to Poland and Ukraine, but Indian media reports say it will take place later this week.
Modi is trying to strike a delicate balance between maintaining his country's historically warm ties with Moscow and forging closer security partnerships with Western nations as a bulwark against regional rival China.
His government has avoided outright condemnation of Russia's incursion into Ukraine in the more than two years since the conflict began, calling instead for the two sides to resolve their differences through dialogue.
Modi's visit to Moscow in July came hours after Russian shelling hit several cities in Ukraine, killing more than three dozen people and severely damaging a children's hospital in Kyiv.
A day earlier, Modi was filmed hugging Putin at his residence, prompting condemnation from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
India and Russia have maintained close ties since the Cold War, when the Kremlin became the country's main arms supplier.
Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, Russia has also become a major supplier of low-priced crude oil to India, providing a much-needed export market following the imposition of Western sanctions.
This dramatically changed their economic ties, with India saving billions of dollars while at the same time boosting Moscow's military coffers.
But Russia's struggle with Ukraine also has a human cost for India.
New Delhi is demanding that Moscow return several of its citizens who signed up for "relief work" in the Russian army but were later sent to fight on the frontlines in Ukraine.
At least five Indian soldiers were killed in the conflict.
Western powers have maintained stronger ties with India as a safeguard against China and its growing influence in the Asia-Pacific region while pressuring Delhi to distance itself from Russia.
India is part of the Quad, along with the US, Japan and Australia, which is countering China's growing pressure in the Asia-Pacific region.
Modi also visited Russia in 2019 and hosted Putin in New Delhi two years later, weeks before Russia launched its offensive against Ukraine.
Since then, India has largely avoided outright condemnation of Russia and has abstained from UN resolutions targeting the Kremlin. | BGNES
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