Moscow-Kyiv to Delhi, connect the dots

Opinion Moscow-Kyiv to Delhi, connect the dots India should employ its access to Moscow and Kyiv to press harder for a negotiated settlement at a time when the US is caught up in the competing demands of the conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia.

Key points

• 3 min readSep 7, 2026 06: 00 AM IST First published on: Sep 7, 2026 at 06: 00 AM IST.
• New Delhi should employ the upcoming BRICS summit, with Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping anticipated to attend, to push for a collective call for such confidence-building measures.
• India has lately been in the thick of diplomatic efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
• Neither Ukraine nor Russia is willing to back down in the face of escalation.
• Washington and Moscow remain in contact even as the fighting continues with their backing.

India has lately been in the thick of diplomatic efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. A series of high-level engagements has taken place- External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's session with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's negotiations with Putin at the SCO summit, where he pressed an end to the war "for humanity's sake", and Jaishankar's trip to Kyiv, where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked India for its "commitment to ending this unjust war". A more proactive role for India in the push for peace is welcome. New Delhi should now build on this momentum and employ its access to both Moscow and Kyiv to press harder for a negotiated settlement at a time when the US is caught up in the competing demands of the conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia.

Washington and Moscow remain in contact even as the fighting continues with their backing. US President Donald Trump's top negotiators met Putin over the weekend. More significantly, CIA Director John Ratcliffe created a secret trip to Moscow two weeks ago. The last known visit to Russia by someone holding that office was almost five years ago, to warn the Kremlin that the US was aware of its aims to invade Ukraine – a deterrence effort that ultimately failed. Ratcliffe's objective, reportedly, was to convince the Kremlin to cut a accord. While Russia is doing the same for Iran in the Gulf, the diplomatic pursuit, nevertheless, is yet to alter the strategic reality: The US provides Ukraine with intelligence to strike targets inside Russia. For all the talk of a reset since the Trump-Putin summit at Anchorage more than a year ago, the two countries remain on opposing sides of two active conflicts.

Neither Ukraine nor Russia is willing to back down in the face of escalation. While Ukraine has relentlessly targeted Russian energy infrastructure, russia has intensified its drone and missile strikes on Ukraine. While restrictions on fuel sales have been imposed nationwide, the disruption has been severe enough for Moscow to turn to India for petrol imports. Throughout Europe, a series of suspected acts of sabotage are being investigated for feasible links to Russia. Any loss of life on European soil could growth the risk of the war spilling further into the continent. The imperative, therefore, is to bring Moscow and Kyiv back to the table and establish, first, a basis for a ceasefire. As well as commercial shipping lanes in the Black Sea, could be among the first steps, the protection of energy and civilian infrastructure. New Delhi should employ the upcoming BRICS summit, with Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping anticipated to attend, to push for a collective call for such confidence-building measures.

© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd.

In short, moscow-Kyiv to Delhi, connect the dots is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.