Zelensky criticizes Modi’s meeting with Putin on the same day that a Russian attack devastates a Ukrainian hospital

CNN
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized his Indian counterpart’s visit to Moscow on Monday as a “great disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts.” On the same day, a Russian missile hit a children’s hospital in Kyiv.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday at his residence in Novo-Ogaryovo near Moscow, while 900 kilometers away Russian missiles rained down on Ukrainian cities during the morning rush hour, killing at least 37 people and injuring 170 others.

Modi’s two-day trip is his first visit to Russia since Putin began his full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly two and a half years ago. Images and videos on Monday show the two leaders embracing, chatting over a cup of tea, riding in an electric vehicle and watching a horse show.

“It is a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world’s largest democracy embracing the world’s most bloodthirsty criminal in Moscow on such a day,” Zelensky said in a post on X on Monday, referring to the deadly Russian attacks.

The large-scale daytime bombardment hit the capital Kyiv as well as cities such as Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, Sloviansk and Kramatorsk – some of which are densely populated areas far from the front line.

In Kyiv, 27 people were killed, including three children, the city’s military administration said on Monday. Two people were killed and at least 16 others injured in the attack on Kyiv’s Okhmatdyt hospital.

The facility is Ukraine’s largest pediatric medical center and has played a critical role in treating some of the country’s most seriously ill children.

Videos from the scene showed volunteers digging through the rubble alongside police and security services as smoke rose from the hospital. Work continued late Monday to search for people who may be trapped under the rubble.

Hospital staff said they were trying to get children to safety after the attack. Two children were in the operating room at the time of the explosion and were both moved to the basement shelter after completing their treatments, a senior nurse told CNN. Another senior nurse said a two-year-old’s surgery was in progress at the time of the attack.

“The lights went out, everything was off. We took out the instruments and shone flashlights. Everything was quickly stitched up,” said Iryna Filimonova. “The baby was taken to the shelter. I immediately ran to help clear the debris.”

United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk said the explosion had forced medical staff to treat sick children outside the facility.

Patients were being treated for cancer “in hospital beds in parks and on streets, where medical staff had quickly set up triage areas amid chaos, dust and rubble,” it said in a statement.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed on Monday that its forces had attacked “military-industrial facilities of Ukraine and air bases of the Ukrainian Armed Forces” with long-range and precision weapons. Without providing evidence, the Russian ministry also claimed that photos and videos of the hospital explosion showed that the damage was caused by a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile.

Meanwhile, near the Russian capital, Modi thanked Putin for hosting him at his suburban residence and wrote in a post on X: “I also look forward to our talks tomorrow, which will certainly go a long way in further strengthening the ties of friendship between India and Russia.”

Putin will hold official talks with Modi in the Kremlin on Tuesday. The trip is a sign that New Delhi and Moscow remain closely aligned despite Russia’s increasing dependence on China, and is widely seen as the latest setback in efforts by Western leaders to sideline Putin.

India has long maintained close ties with Moscow and remains heavily dependent on the Kremlin for military hardware. The country has increased its purchases of Russian crude oil at discounted prices, offering Putin’s country a crucial financial lifeline as it faces looming isolation from the West.

Ahead of the visit, a statement from Modi’s office said the Indian president would “examine all aspects of bilateral cooperation with my friend President Vladimir Putin and exchange perspectives on various regional and global issues. We want to play a supporting role for a peaceful and stable region.”

The United States has raised concerns with India over its relations with Russia, a U.S. State Department spokesman told reporters at a press conference on Monday.

“I will look at Prime Minister Modi’s public statements to see what he has talked about, but as I said, we have made our concerns about relations with Russia clear to India,” spokesman Matthew Miller said. “We hope that India and any other country, when engaging with Russia, will make clear that Russia should respect the UN Charter and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.”

While India called for a cessation of hostilities in Ukraine and the restoration of peace, it abstained from all resolutions on Ukraine at the United Nations and did not condemn the Russian invasion.

Trade between the two countries reached nearly $65 billion in 2023-24, largely due to strong cooperation in the energy sector, but most of this trade volume went to Russia, according to Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.

Reducing the trade deficit will be a “priority issue” in Modi’s talks with Putin, he said ahead of the trip.

The visit is also Modi’s first bilateral trip since winning a rare third term in India’s mammoth election last month.

Russian presidential adviser Yuri Ushakov said the Kremlin attached “utmost importance” to Modi’s visit, Russian state news agency TASS reported.

The Russian attacks in Ukraine came a day before US President Joe Biden convenes a key NATO summit in Washington, where new announcements are expected on the alliance’s military, political and financial support for Kyiv.

In a statement on Monday evening, Biden called the Russian missile attacks in Kyiv – including on the children’s hospital – a “horrific reminder of Russia’s brutality.”

“It is critical that the world continues to stand with Ukraine at this important moment and that we do not ignore Russian aggression,” Biden said.