New Delhi, March 4, 2025.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha is expected to visit India this month. The visit signals Ukraine’s push to strengthen ties with India as the Russia-Ukraine war enters its 37th month and a widening U.S.-EU divide complicates peace efforts.
Sybiha has been invited to attend the prestigious Raisina Dialogue from March 17-19, hosted by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF). During the visit the Ukrainian Foreign Minister will also hold bilateral meeting with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. Both the ministers have held a meeting on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, Germany, recently in February.
paid Homage At The Martyrologist Exposition in Kyiv, August 2024
Sybiha’s trip follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s historic visit to Kyiv on August 23, 2024—the first by an Indian premier since Ukraine’s independence in 1991. During that visit, Modi met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, urging both Ukraine and Russia to pursue peace through dialogue. “I have come to Ukraine with a message of peace,” Modi declared at the time. “India firmly believes that peace should prevail, and I have personally come here to contribute in whatever way I can to restore peace in Ukraine.” The visit also laid the groundwork for deeper India-Ukraine cooperation where the Ukrainian side indicated to take it to the strategic level. That visit, which followed Modi’s talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in July 2024, underscored India’s nuanced stance: advocating peace through dialogue while maintaining strategic ties with both nations
The timing of Sybiha’s potential visit is critical. The war, now nearing its third year, has seen Russia’s incremental gains in eastern Ukraine countered by Ukraine’s daring Kursk offensive in August 2024. Meanwhile, a rift between the U.S. and Europe has emerged. The Trump administration’s pivot to direct talks with Russia—evidenced by a February 18, 2025, meeting in Saudi Arabia—has sidelined Kyiv and sparked European fears of a settlement favoring Moscow. The U.S. opposition to a Ukrainian-backed UN resolution condemning Russia on February 24, 2025, further underscored this divide. Europe, though committed to Ukraine’s sovereignty, is fractured—Poland and the Baltic states advocate a hardline stance, while Germany faces pressure to reduce military aid.
Against this backdrop, Ukraine is turning to India as a neutral power with unique leverage. Modi’s dual outreach—meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on July 8-9, 2024, and Zelenskyy in Kyiv weeks later—has positioned New Delhi as a bridge between the warring sides. “Both Ukraine and Russia should sit together without wasting time to find ways to end this conflict,” Modi said in Kyiv, adding, “India is ready to play an active role in restoring peace.” India’s refusal to fully join Western sanctions, coupled with its reliance on Russian military hardware (60% of its arsenal) and surging energy imports since 2022, gives it credibility with Moscow, while its expanding ties with Ukraine offer Kyiv hope.
Sybiha, a seasoned diplomat was appointed Foreign Minister in September 2024 replacing Dmytro Kuleba as part of Ukraine’s largest wartime Cabinet reshuffle. His agenda in India will likely focus on operationalizing the 2024 agreements, boosting trade—Ukraine eyes Indian markets for its agricultural exports—and pressing India to exert its diplomatic influence on Russia for a “just and lasting peace”.
India has been pretty balanced in last three years of Russia-Ukraine war. While Modi invited Zelenskyy to India during his Kyiv trip, “I invite you to visit at a mutually convenient time”—New Delhi’s economic ties with Russia remain robust, which Eurpea think is enabling “Russian war machine”. Sybiha’s talks with Jaishankar will test whether India can translate its non-aligned stance into tangible diplomatic influence. “From the very beginning of this conflict, India has been on the side of peace,” Modi emphasized in Kyiv. “We believe that disputes should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy, not through war.”
With Ukraine seeking partners beyond a faltering West and India eyeing a larger role on the world stage, this diplomatic engagement may shape the path to peace.