Ukraine updates: Modi keen for 'peace' as he arrives in Kyiv

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday in his televised address that it was "important to us that India remains committed to international law and supports our sovereignty and territorial integrity." 

This follows Modi's trip to Kyiv, a few weeks after he visited Moscow. 

Zelenskyy also said he appreciated that Modi had begun the visit by paying tribute to the children killed in the July hospital strike. 

Both leaders had referred to the visit as "historic" during their statements together. 

Modi also called for peace talks and offered to help mediate, an issue Zelenskyy did not directly respond to. 

Zelensky said that "the matter of ending the war and a just peace are the priority for Ukraine."

India has traditionally had close economic and defense ties with Russia. It has maintained and even expanded these since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but has also publicly criticized civilian deaths in Ukraine and called for a stop to the fighting.

The White House said it believed Modi's visit to Ukraine could be helpful, if it can work toward "getting us to an end to the conflict that comports with President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy's vision for a just peace."

Russian security forces said Friday they have resolved a hostage situation in a prison in the southern Volgograd region. 

The Russian security forces said they "neutralized" four inmates who had taken staff hostage.

"Special National Guard sniper units neutralized four prisoners who had taken colony staff hostage, with four accurate shots. The hostages were released," the agency said in a statement posted on messaging platform Telegram.

Volgograd Governor Andrey Bocharov said that some hostages were killed.

The knife-wielding inmates identified themselves as members of the so-called "Islamic State" group, on a video purportedly filmed by the attackers which has been circulating. 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to sit down for talks with Moscow during a trip to Kyiv.

This is Ukraine's first visit from an Indian head of government since the country declared its independence from the Soviet Union.

Both leaders hailed the meeting as "historic."

Modi said he had come to Ukraine with a message of peace and called for dialogue between Kyiv and Moscow.

"The road to resolution can only be found through dialogue and diplomacy. And we should move in that direction without wasting any time. Both sides should sit together to find a way out of this crisis," Modi said.

"I want to assure you that India is ready to play an active role in any efforts toward peace. If I can play any role in this personally, I will do that. I want to assure you as a friend," he said.

Speaking before Modi, Zelenskyy said that "the matter of ending the war and a just peace are the priority for Ukraine." Ukrainian officials have said that a complete Russian withdrawal from Ukrainian territory would be a precondition for talks.Modi's visit to Kyiv comes a day after the Indian leader met with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw. In July, Modi visited Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, a move denounced by Zelenskyy.

India has called for a negotiated settlement to the war in Ukraine and has criticized Western sanctions on Moscow. It has considerable economic and diplomatic ties with Russia, but has also moved to increase security cooperation with Western states.

The EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell said Friday that Germany's plans to cut its military aid to Ukraine was "worrisome" and "bad news."

Berlin has been the second largest contributor of aid to Ukraine after Washington in helping Kyiv fight off Russia's invasion. But Germany's draft budget for 2025, the subject of a protracted row between the three parties in Chancellor Olaf Scholz's ruling coalition, includes only around €4 billion euros ($4.4 billion) for Ukraine, compared to double that in 2024.

"Until now, without making a lot of noise, the strongest support of Ukraine has been Germany. So you can say we have to do something different. But for the time being, what we are doing is being done mainly by Germany," Borrell said at a conference in Santander in northern Spain.

Russia on Friday accused Ukraine of trying to attack the Kursk nuclear power plant in what Moscow described as an act of "nuclear terrorism." 

The nuclear power station is located in the Kursk region of western Russia, where fierce fighting has raged since Ukrainian forces launched a surprise incursion on August 6.

The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that its air defense units had shot down three Ukrainian drones overnight in the Kursk region.

Russian state news agency TASS quoted Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying it was an "act of nuclear terrorism" that required an immediate response from the UN watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The head of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, scheduled to visit the power station next week. He has appealed for maximum restraint.

A fire at Russia's port of Kavkaz is still raging, Moscow's state news agency TASS reported on Friday.

This comes a day after a ferry loaded with fuel tanks sank there after a Ukrainian attack.

Ukraine's Navy confirmed on Friday that it had destroyed the ferry which it said was used to deliver fuel and weapons to Crimea, the region Russia seized and annexed from in 2014.

As a result, the ferry service to Crimea was temporarily suspended while a clear-up operation took place.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived in Kyiv, where he met with representatives of the Indian diaspora.

"The Indian community accorded a very warm welcome," Modi said on the
social media platform X.

The chief of Ukraine's Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak, called Modi's visit "historic."

As for the purpose behind Modi's visit, officials in India have said boosting economic ties and cooperation in defense, science and technology are on the agenda. But Kyiv is keen to lay down a marker regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine, particularly in light of Modi's visit to Moscow last month, when he met with Putin on the day Russian missiles struck across Ukraine, killing scores of people.

"We respect India as a very big democracy in the world and a powerful country," Yermak said in an interview with India Today. "But now it's necessary to say who is the aggressor, who is the victim."

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi headed to Kyiv on Friday where he is set to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"No problem can be resolved on a battlefield," Modi said ahead of his visit, adding that New Delhi is in favor of "dialogue and diplomacy for restoration of peace and stability as soon as possible."

He is the first Indian premier to visit Ukraine and Modi is casting himself as a possible peacemaker, two and a half years after Russia invaded its neighbor.

A diplomatic breakthrough between Moscow and Kyiv looks more elusive than ever, however, following Ukraine's offensive into Russia's western Kursk region.

It is also unclear whether Modi himself could be an effective peacemaker, with many in Kyiv skeptical over his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In July, he drew Ukrainian ire after hugging Putin during a visit to Moscow.

Modi said he hoped to "share perspectives on peaceful resolution of the ongoing Ukraine conflict" with Zelenskyy, as well as discuss "deepening the India-Ukraine friendship."

Zelenskyy has said that "a number of documents are also expected to be signed" during the meeting with Modi, who visited Poland on Thursday as part of his trip.

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine is operating normally once more after its automatic systems- had previously switched off one high-voltage line, Russia's Rosatom nuclear company said on Friday.

The dormant plant is dependent on external power to keep the stability and safety of its reactors. Rosatom said power was being supplied via an alternative high-voltage line.

Earlier this month, experts warned of a growing crisis at nuclear power plants in Kursk and in Zaporizhzhya.

Kamala Harris was officially announced as the Democratic candidate for the upcoming US presidential election and vowed to "stand up" for Ukraine in its fight against Russian President Vladimir "Putin's aggression."

"In the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand and I know where the United States belongs," she said, accusing Republican nominee Donald Trump of bowing down to dictators.

Harris emerged as the Democratic candidate little more than a month ago when President Joe Biden said he would be stepping aside.

jsi/rc (AP, dpa, Reuters, AFP)