How does Ukraine see India? These 3 perspectives of the war-torn country are important

Rudranil Ghosh : Air-raid sirens sounded in Kiev early in the morning, even as Modi was travelling by train from Poland to the Ukrainian capital. Ukraine remains a war zone. Modi arrived in Ukraine on National Flag Day, a day before Ukraine’s Independence Day. It was more symbolic than any message Putin was trying to send by firing ballistic missiles at Ukrainian cities.

From curiosity to gratitude

The Ukrainian response to the visit – the first by a sitting Indian prime minister to independent Ukraine – generated three kinds of reactions. First, there was genuine curiosity about India’s position on the war. Zelensky may have lashed out at Modi for hugging Putin in Moscow last month, when Russian missiles struck the biggest children’s hospital in Kiev, but Ukrainians are also realising that the world is a complicated place.

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European support for Ukraine comes in many shades. Hungary’s reluctant support of Viktor Orbán is well known. Germany claims full support but takes into account its business interests. The Baltic states are the most vocal in their support. But as Ukrainian independent MP Larisa Bilozir said, Baltic support is not because there is any special love for Ukraine, but is motivated by fear of Ukraine’s collapse.

India’s neutrality

Second, the Ukrainian concern today is what kind of neutrality India adheres to. Is it neutral because it is under severe pressure, or is it neutral because it does not agree with Ukraine’s point of view? Third, there is general gratitude for the fact that Modi decided to come to Kyiv. Ukraine considers any leader who takes the trouble to visit at this difficult time a friend, if not a potential ally.

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Difference between India, Ukraine

Moreover, there is a clear assessment that a gap of understanding exists between India and Ukraine. This is being attributed to the lack of adequate learning about eastern Ukraine and Ukraine’s failure to actively build ties with countries of the global south. Hence, at the level of the Ukrainian population, India is still viewed through the old tropes of spirituality and yoga. India’s IT proficiency is just beginning to be highlighted here.

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Similarly, the new Ukraine, especially after the 2014 Maidan revolution, is still not well understood in Indian circles. This too fuels the perception among a section of Indians that the war is essentially the product of an international power struggle between the US and Russia. Ukrainians find this disturbing. They just want the world to know that they are fighting for their freedom. In this context, Modi’s visit helps both sides take the first small steps towards bridging the cognitive divide.

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Russia is the big bad wolf!

The other part of the puzzle for Ukrainians is why countries like India do not understand that today’s Russia is not the Soviet Union. A common refrain heard in Kiev is that Ukraine was also part of the Soviet Union. Much of the technological and defence cooperation between India and the Soviet Union was in fact preserved by Ukrainians within the Soviet sphere. Ukrainian experts consider Russia’s successful hijacking of the positive Soviet legacy to be the root cause of Ukraine’s lack of appeal in the global south today.

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Honor for Modi in Ukraine

Finally, the phrase ‘as long as it takes’ deeply defines Ukraine’s approach to the war today. Victory means breaking down colonialism and Russia’s imperial structures permanently, as Ukrainians see it. In this regard, Ukrainians would like to draw parallels with India’s anti-colonial struggle. “You fought colonialism, just as we are fighting it now”. Here is an argument often levelled at Indians. As the world’s largest democracy, Ukrainians would like India to sympathise with their longing for independence.

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But there is one thing all Ukrainians agree on. Modi is the only leader who has called for peace several times before Putin and renounced conflict. Only for this, he/she has gained the respect of Ukrainians.