CNN
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday criticised the Indian president’s visit to Moscow as “a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts” on the same day that a Russian missile slammed into a children’s hospital in Kiev.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Russian President Vladimir Putin at his official residence in Novo-Ogaryovo, outside Moscow, on Monday, while 900 kilometers (550 miles) away, Russian missiles rained down on a Ukrainian city during the morning rush hour, killing at least 38 people and wounding 190.
Modi’s two-day visit marks his first visit to Russia since Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly two and a half years ago. Pictures and videos released on Monday showed the two leaders embracing each other, chatting over tea, riding an electric car and watching equestrian events.
“It is a great disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world’s largest democracy embracing the world’s most brutal criminals in Moscow on a day like this,” Zelenskiy said in a Twitter post on Monday, referring to the deadly attack by Russia.
Speaking to Indian residents in Moscow on Tuesday, Prime Minister Modi did not mention the attacks but praised ties between the two countries. He also announced new consulates in the Russian cities of Yekaterinburg and Kazan to “foster travel and business”.
“Even if the temperature in Russia is below zero, the friendship between Russia and India is always positive,” he said. “This is a relationship built on the foundations of mutual trust and mutual respect.”
Massive daytime bombardments hit the capital, Kiev, Dnipro, Krivoy Rih, Slovyansk, Kramatorsk and other cities, some of which were densely populated areas far from the front line.
Ukraine’s national emergency service said on Tuesday that 28 people were killed in Kiev, including four children. Two people were killed and at least 16 were wounded in the attack on Okhmadit Hospital in Kiev.
The facility is Ukraine’s largest pediatric medical center and is essential in treating the country’s sickest children.
Gleb Galanich/Reuters
Rescue workers carry out rescue operations at the Omatdit Children’s Hospital, which was damaged by a Russian missile attack, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 8, 2024.
Video from the scene showed volunteers working with police and security forces to dig through the rubble as smoke rose from the hospital. Search and rescue efforts continued on Tuesday to find people possibly trapped underneath.
Hospital staff said they tried to rush the children to safety after the attack. A senior nurse told CNN that two children were in the operating room at the time of the explosion and that they were both moved to an underground shelter once the procedures were over. Another senior nurse said a two-year-old was undergoing surgery when the attack happened.
“The electricity went out, everything was gone. We took out our tools, shone our flashlights, and quickly everything was sewn up,” Irina Filimonova said. “They took the baby (to a shelter) and I immediately ran to help clear the rubble.”
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said the explosion had forced medical workers to treat sick children outside the facility.
“Patients were receiving cancer treatment in hospital beds set up in parks and on the streets, while medical workers scrambled to set up triage areas amid chaos, dust and rubble,” he said in a statement.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed on Monday that its forces had attacked “Ukrainian military-industrial complexes and an airbase of the Ukrainian Armed Forces” with long-range high-precision weapons. It also claimed, without providing evidence, that photos and videos of the hospital explosion confirmed that the damage was caused by a Ukrainian air defense missile.
Meanwhile, near the Russian capital, Prime Minister Modi thanked Putin for inviting him to his country residence, and wrote in a post on Twitter: “I look forward to our meeting tomorrow. It will certainly be a big step in further strengthening the bonds of friendship between India and Russia.”
Putin is due to hold formal talks with Modi at the Kremlin on Tuesday. The visit is widely seen as a testament to India’s close ties with Moscow despite Russia’s growing reliance on China and a new blow to efforts by Western leaders to oust Putin.
India has longstanding ties with Moscow and remains heavily reliant on the Kremlin for military hardware. India has increased its purchases of discounted Russian oil, providing a major economic lifeline for Putin’s country as it faces isolation from the West.
Gavril Grigorov/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stroll during informal talks near Moscow, July 8, 2024.
Ahead of the visit, Modi’s office said in a statement that the Indian prime minister would “examine all aspects of bilateral cooperation with my friend President Vladimir Putin and share views on a range of regional and global issues. We aim to play a supporting role for a peaceful and stable region.”
A State Department spokesman said at a press briefing on Monday that the US has expressed concerns to India about its ties with Russia.
“We will look at Prime Minister Modi’s public comments to see what he has to say, but as I said, we have made our concerns clear directly to India about its relationship with Russia,” spokesman Matthew Miller said. “We expect India and other countries to be clear in their engagement with Russia that Russia must respect the UN Charter and respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.”
India has called for an end to hostilities and the restoration of peace in Ukraine, but has abstained from all UN resolutions on Ukraine and has stopped short of condemning Russian aggression.
Gavril Grigorov/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visit a horse stable during informal talks outside Moscow on July 8, 2024.
According to Indian foreign ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal, trade between the two countries is expected to reach about $65 billion in 2023-24, mainly due to strong energy cooperation, with most of that total going to Russia.
Ahead of the visit, he said reducing trade imbalances would be a “priority” in discussions between Prime Minister Modi and President Putin.
The visit is also Modi’s first bilateral visit since winning an unprecedented third term in India’s sweeping elections last month.
Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said the Kremlin attached “highest importance” to Modi’s visit, Russian state news agency TASS reported.
Russia’s attack on Ukraine comes a day before U.S. President Joe Biden is to host a key NATO summit in Washington, where new announcements are expected about NATO’s military, political and financial support for Kyiv.
In a statement Monday night, Biden called the Russian missile attack in Kiev, including on a children’s hospital, “a horrifying reminder of Russian atrocities.”
“It is vital that the world continues to stand with Ukraine at this critical moment and that we do not ignore Russian aggression,” Biden said.
