In PM Modi's Historic Ukraine Visit, A Hug And Handshake With Zelensky

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today met President Volodymyr Zelensky on the first-ever visit to Ukraine by an Indian prime minister. PM Modi and Mr Zelensky hugged and shook hands as they met at the Martyrologist Exposition in Kyiv.

The two leaders are scheduled to hold both one-on-one and delegation-level talks with a focus on ways to find a negotiated settlement to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

#WATCH | PM Modi and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy honour the memory of children at the Martyrologist Exposition in Kyiv pic.twitter.com/oV8bbZ8bQh — ANI (@ANI) August 23, 2024

PM Modi arrived in Kyiv from Poland onboard a 'Rail Force One' train that took around 10 hours, in the second and final leg of his two-nation trip.

Watch: PM Modi Greeted With Namastes As He Arrives In Ukraine

His Ukraine visit comes nearly six weeks after his high-profile trip to Russia during which he held extensive talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin largely with a focus on ending the conflict.

PM Modi last met Mr Zelensky in June on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy's Apulia. In the meeting, he conveyed to the Ukrainian President that India would continue to do everything within its means to support a peaceful solution to the Ukraine conflict and that the way to peace is through "dialogue and diplomacy".

He also told Mr Zelensky that India believes in a "human-centric" approach to finding a solution to the conflict in Ukraine. In that meeting, the Ukrainian president invited the prime minister to Kyiv.

Earlier Thursday, he held talks with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and said that the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia are a matter of "deep concern" and that "dialogue and diplomacy" is the way forward to restore peace.

"This is India's firm belief that no problem can be solved on the battlefield. In any crisis, the loss of lives of innocent people has become the biggest challenge for the whole of humanity," he had said.