Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on Monday for an end to the war in Ukraine during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Modi said "each day the conflict drags on, humanity moves backwards," emphasizing that "we must move from endless war to the end of the war, an essential step for the well-being of humanity." The Indian leader also highlighted that a peaceful solution is "humanity's call and India's message, a land of peace and the land of Buddha."
Due to the war that began in February 2022 with Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Western sanctions on Moscow, India became Russia's main oil importer, while Russia began importing gasoline from India due to fuel shortages caused by Ukrainian attacks on its refineries. Putin thanked Modi for the "friendly" relations between the two countries, noting that bilateral trade grew 2.6% in the first half of the year and tourism grew 16% in 2025.
The meeting took place as Russia intensifies bombings in Ukraine in response to Ukrainian aerial attacks on Russian territory. On Saturday, a Russian bombing of an ammunition depot on the outskirts of Kyiv caused a large explosion and killed at least 38 people, the deadliest attack of the year according to Ukrainian authorities.
The peace negotiations promoted by the United States are stalled with no prospects for progress. The center of disagreements are the regions occupied by Moscow in central and southern Ukraine, as well as the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Russia since 2014. The Ukrainian question was also briefly discussed in the meeting between Putin and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, also on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit.
