Neutrality won’t help stop war, says Ukraine's foreign minister on India’s position | Exclusive

Speaking on India's position on the Russia-Ukraine war, Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said that neutrality will not help in stopping the war. He spoke exclusively to India Today's Rajdeep Sardesai on Wednesday.

The Russia-Ukraine war continues unabated, more than two months after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the invasion in a televised address on February 24.

In the days since then, countries across the globe have taken a side, or chosen not to. India belongs to the second category. India has maintained that it is on the side of peace and appealed to both Russia and Ukraine to end the war; however, it has consistently abstained from taking an explicit position against either of the two countries at war.

In an exclusive interview with India Today’s Rajdeep Sardesai, Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Wednesday that neutrality is a position that does not help in stopping the war.

Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba), Ukraine's Foreign Minister speaks of the challenges that the Ukrainian troops face against relentless Russian attacks.'I know that #India enjoys a special relationship with #Russia, but this Russia is different', He also said@sardesairajdeep pic.twitter.com/swUIqQOfNs

He said, “We appreciate the sympathy coming from the leadership of India for Ukraine. We also appreciate the position of India that the war must stop. At the same time, I must mention that under these circumstances, neutrality is the position that doesn’t help in stopping the war. The best way to stop the war is to support Ukraine and leave Russia with no illusions that it may win the war.”