BSH NEWS
Igor Polikha, the ambassador of Ukraine in India said that India should intervene in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi should speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin to halt this invasion.
Putin announced the launch of a military operation against Ukraine on Thursday (February 24) as moments after that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky noted that Russia was attacking the “military infrastructure” and border guards.
ALSO READ | Ukraine closes airspace to civilian flights, Air India’s special flight returns mid-air
Seeking an urgent intervention from India, he said, “India is a very influential global player… We are asking for a strong voice of India”.
“Modi Ji is one of the most powerful and most respected leaders in the world,” he said, adding that India has a “special privilege” and a strategic relationship with Russia and Ukraine is expecting a much more favourable attitude by the Indian government in this crisis.
During his address, Polikha also applauded India’s history and civilization as he quoted Chanakya and Mahabharat for India’s global role in diplomacy.
ALSO READ | Russia-Ukraine conflict: How is India planning its response considering Indian students in Kiev
He said, “I’m dealing with India from my young student years and I know a lot about your history of diplomacy. You had such bright guys… like Chanakya, or a he is otherwise called, Kautilya, approximately 2500 years back when on the major parts of Europe, there was no civilization.”
Weighing in on the conflict, he said that there is fresh information about casualties. They say they are attacking only military facilities, but we have suffered “civilian casualties”.
He told the media, “We have the first civilian casualties even on the outskirts of the capital. There’s fighting in some areas. According to information from our Ministry of Defence, the Ukrainian side shot down five Russian fighter planes, two helicopters, and destroyed two tanks and several trucks.”
“Some attacks happened on the outskirts of the capital. Some attacks happened deep inside the territory of Ukraine. We`re getting the first information about casualties among our soldiers and the civilians,” he further said.
WATCH: Ukraine claims: Downed five Russian planes, Moscow denies