New Delhi: As Russian President Vladimir Putin wrapped up his two-day go to to India on December 5, New Delhi started the subsequent part of its delicate diplomatic balancing act, arranging a possible go to by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy within the coming months, The Indian Categorical, citing sources. The go to may happen as early as January 2026.
A visit by Zelenskyy would spotlight India’s constant method to the Russia-Ukraine battle, sustaining engagement with each side. Final yr, Prime Minister Narendra Modi exemplified this technique, visiting Moscow in July 2024 to fulfill Putin and travelling to Ukraine a month later.
Officers revealed that Indian and Ukrainian authorities have been in discussions for a number of weeks. Contacts with Zelenskyy’s workplace reportedly started even earlier than Putin arrived in India.
The ultimate timing and scope of the go to will depend upon a number of components, together with the progress of US President Donald Trump’s peace initiative and developments on the battlefield. Home politics in Ukraine, the place Zelenskyy’s authorities faces scrutiny amid a sweeping corruption scandal, may additionally affect the end result.
Ukraine has traditionally despatched its presidents to India solely thrice: 1992, 2002 and 2012.
India’s Diplomatic Stability
Putin’s go to drew scrutiny from European capitals, with a number of envoys urging India to leverage its affect to steer Moscow towards peace. New Delhi has persistently emphasised dialogue and diplomacy as the one viable path ahead.
Modi has made New Delhi’s place clear by stating that “India is just not impartial, India is on the aspect of peace”.
For the reason that outbreak of the battle in February 2022, India has maintained communication with each Kyiv and Moscow. Modi has spoken with Zelenskyy by cellphone a minimum of eight instances, and the 2 leaders have met on 4 events. Most of their current dialog was on August 30, 2025, when Modi reached Tianjin, China, for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, forward of a deliberate assembly with Putin.
Quoting sources, the every day reported that India has continued engagement with each capitals on evolving peace initiatives, together with the newest Trump proposal.
The battle has additionally begun affecting India extra straight. Secondary sanctions and a 25 % penalty tariff imposed by the Trump administration on Russian oil compelled Delhi to chop its imports from Russia from September 2025 onward.
Modi’s Message Of Peace
Modi’s statements throughout his assembly with Putin echoed the language he had utilized in Ukraine in August 2024, when he informed Zelenskyy, “We have now stayed away from the battle, however we aren’t impartial, we’re in favour of peace. We come from the land of Buddha and (Mahatma) Gandhi with a message of peace.”
Putin supplied restricted element in regards to the discussions, stating solely that they’d spoken “intimately on the state of affairs in Ukraine” and on US-led talks towards a “attainable peaceable settlement of this disaster”.
The Prime Minister’s Workplace had earlier issued a readout after the Modi-Zelenskyy name on August 30, stating that Modi reaffirmed India’s “steadfast and constant place for peaceable settlement of the battle” and its readiness to supply “all attainable help”.
The prime minister reiterated this message after his assembly with Putin, saying, “India has all the time advocated for peace concerning Ukraine. We welcome all efforts being made for a peaceable and lasting decision of this difficulty. India has all the time been able to contribute and can proceed to take action.”
Observers stated that neither chief used the phrases “battle” or “battle” through the discussions, as a substitute referring to the Ukraine state of affairs as a “disaster”. This contrasts with Modi’s earlier remarks in September 2022, when he informed Putin “this isn’t the period of battle”, and in July 2024, in Moscow, when he added that “options can’t be discovered on the battlefield”.
Curiously, the joint assertion launched after the December 2025 assembly didn’t point out the Ukraine battle in any respect.
Subsequent Steps With Zelenskyy
Sources stated informed The Indian Categorical that officers in New Delhi had been in contact with Andriy Yermak, Zelenskyy’s highly effective chief of employees and confidant, who resigned this week amid a corruption scandal. With Yermak now gone, they’re coordinating with new officers in Zelenskyy’s workplace to finalise mutually handy dates for the potential go to, guaranteeing the steadiness India has maintained in its diplomacy continues.