Russian President Vladimir Putin “has made a decision” and “all those responsible” for the Ukrainian invasion of the Kursk region “will be severely punished.” The warning was issued by the Russian ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, after Ukrainian forces said they were also using US-supplied bombs in their offensive. But Washington remained ambiguous about whether it would support the operation. A spokeswoman said the Pentagon’s line was to “allow” Ukraine to “engage in such counterattacks,” but that the U.S. defense was still trying to “better understand what Kiev is doing” in Kursk.
In this confusing situation, India is trying to propose itself as a mediator for a negotiated solution, with no one knows with what hope of success. “If I can play a role in this personally, I will, I want to assure you as a friend,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi when meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on his first visit to Kiev. New Delhi has consolidated relations with Russia, from which it sources weapons and cheap oil, and Last July, Modi met Putin in Moscow. On that occasion, the Indian prime minister also called the Kremlin chief his “friend” and hugged him in front of the cameras. A gesture that had provoked the ire of Zelensky, who had defined it as “a great disappointment and a hard blow to the peace efforts”. Modi tried to make amends by hugging him too when they met today. And Zelensky said he had taken from the talks the assurance that “India supports the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine”. For its part, the White House stressed that Modi’s visit “can be useful”, but on condition that it contributes “to ending the conflict in accordance with Zelensky’s vision of a just peace”.
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