'The aim of Russian policy is to reform European security, stop NATO expansion and in a more general sense -- set up the new rules of relations between the great powers.' 'From this perspective. the invasion of Ukraine is quite pointless.'
Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion on February 24, 2022. The Russian invaders have made military gains in eastern Ukraine, but their early objective of capturing their neighbouring country in days, if not weeks, has not come to pass.
'The first and most basic responsibility of any government is to protect its people from external threats and internal harm.' 'Budget 2025-2026 has to focus on meeting this responsibility,' asserts R Jagannathan.
Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said all Indian nationals left Kyiv on Tuesday after the Indian embassy issued an advisory, asking them to get out of the Ukrainian capital urgently.
A convoy with military equipment of the Russian southern military district units crossed the Crimean bridge on the way to the places of permanent deployment following the planned drills in Crimea, the Russian defence ministry said on Wednesday.
India's comments came hours after Russia claimed that some Indian students in Kharkiv were taken hostage by Ukrainian security forces.
The apparel and engineering sectors have already witnessed the trend in the past one week. If this continues, it can have an impact on the overall export demand in the coming months, considering that Europe is the largest national export market for India.
It is learnt that the camp office in Lviv would be able to coordinate the evacuation of Indians to Poland and Hungary while the one at Chernivtsi would facilitate exit to Romania.
India abstained on the procedural vote taken in the Security Council ahead of a meeting to discuss the tense situation on the Ukraine border.
In what is seen as the first sign of China's exasperation over Russia's Ukraine war, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday raised 'questions and concerns' over the conflict in his meeting in Samarkand with Russian President Vladimir Putin who thanked Beijing for its 'balanced position' on the crisis.
Dutch investigator Wilbert Paulissen said the Joint Investigation Team had come to the conclusion that the BUK-TELAR that shot down MH17 came from 53rd Anti-aircraft Missile Brigade based in Kursk in Russia.
Countries like Russia cannot be "locked up" behind the iron curtain, the Russian presidential spokesman asserted on Thursday, as the US-led West threatened to impose more biting sanctions against Moscow after President Vladimir Putin ordered a military offensive against Ukraine.
One of the most horrific Russian air strikes in recent days has been the missile strike on a rail station in Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine, which killed scores of people, including children, as they were waiting for a train.
The Russian defence ministry on Wednesday said its armed forces are ready to take all necessary measures for the safe evacuation of Indian citizens from the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
Jaishankar described as a "reasonable supposition" to expect some improvement in the relations between India and China following the last round of disengagement but hesitated to say that there could be a reset of the ties.
Several German government websites,including Chancellor Angela Merkel's official page, have been crippled in an unprecedented cyber attack claimed by a pro-Russian group demanding that Berlin sever ties with the regime in Ukraine, just ahead of their leaders' meet.
Some complained of being beaten up as they tried to join the fleeing crowds, purely because of their skin colour.
The 193-member UN General Assembly adopted the draft resolution 'Humanitarian consequences of the aggression against Ukraine' by Ukraine and its western allies, with 140 nations voting in favour, five against and 38 abstentions. India abstained on the resolution.
Grabavo, where Flight MH17 exploded and crashed, is in the eastern province of Donetsk. It is 40 odd kms from the Russian border and for many years, was called Stalino after Josef Stalin.
The volunteering students are studying in China, Uzbekistan and Philippines.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday said he views the current situation in Ukraine as an issue of humanity and human values and not of politics or economy even as he called for respecting international law, sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Tuesday claimed that evidence has been tampered with at the crash site of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in pro-Russia separatists-held eastern Ukraine.
About 16,000 Indians, mostly students, are stranded in Ukraine as Russia's invasion of the east European country entered its second day on Friday. Of the students, many studying medicine in Kharkiv and Kyiv, about 2,500 are from Gujarat and 2,320 from Kerala.
At a press conference ahead of Air Force Day on October 8, he also said that India needs to catch up with China on technology and speed in production of military equipment, holding that "we are way behind" the neighbour. Air Chief Marshal Singh, at the same time, said the Indian military is way ahead in terms of personnel including those operating various machines and platforms. "I am very confident that as far as human angle is concerned, as far as our people behind the machine are concerned, we are way ahead of them," he said.
European governments have stepped up diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the crisis in Ukraine, encouraged by Russian President Vladimir Putin's assurance that his country has no intention to annexe the Crimean peninsula or to wage a war against its neighbour.
Pro-Russia rebels on Friday said they have recovered the black boxes from the wreckage of the Malaysian plane blown by a missile over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board, including 100 world-renowned AIDS researchers and activists.
India on Saturday 'strongly pressed' the Russian and Ukrainian governments through multiple channels for an immediate ceasefire in Sumy to ensure a safe passage for around 700 Indian students stuck there as it keeps focus on their evacuation from the war-hit city in eastern Ukraine.
Insurance on the Malaysian airliner brought down over Ukraine is likely to pay out relatively quickly if the cause of the crash is determined.
Ukrainian medical universities have allowed their foreign students to gain practical training at hospitals and clinics in their own countries, giving relief to thousands of Indian students who have fled the war-hit nation.
The UN Security Council joined the call made by UN Chief Ban Ki-moon for a thorough and independent investigation into the apparent downing of a Malaysian passenger plane in Ukraine, stressing that all parties should grant immediate access to the investigators.
If a workable compromise is found and Russia'S Western borders are left undisturbed with a suitable buffer, it will indicate that the US is indeed serious about its focus on China, observes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday said the government is trying to find out details about the student from Haveri district who was reportedly injured due to the shelling by Russian forces in Ukraine's Kharkiv city.
The increase in India's military spending was "mainly a result of growing personnel and operations costs" which made up almost 80 percent of the total military budget in 2023, the SIPRI report claimed.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has termed Russian President Vladimir Putin announcement of a special military operation in Ukraine as the "saddest moment in my tenure", while Security Council members blasted the Russian leader for the "unprovoked and unjustified' action and for delivering a "message of war".
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday called upon the top military brass to analyse the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza as well as the current situation in Bangladesh to "predict" any future problems and stay prepared to deal with the "unexpected".
Boeing, the maker of the Malaysian Airlines aircraft that crashed in eastern Ukraine, on Thursday said it was ready to assist authorities.
Eyewitnesses in Eastern Ukraine have claimed that Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 went down after a huge explosion in the sky. The aircraft along with 295 passengers reportedly went down near the village of Grabovo.
The black boxes from the downed Malaysia Airlines in eastern Ukraine arrived in the UK on Wednesday for expert analysis by air accident investigators.
Russia has informed the United Nations Security Council that Russian buses are ready at crossing points to go to the eastern Ukrainian cities of Kharkiv and Sumy to evacuate Indian students and other foreign nationals who are stranded there, amidst the raging conflict in the East European country.
More than 6,000 people have died in the nearly one-year-old Ukraine conflict; the United Nations human rights office said on Monday and warned that "deliberate targeting" of civilians may constitute a "crime against humanity".
