 "$165bn in tariff revenue: Stopgap relief or legal mirage for America’s budget crisis?")
 "Ukraine says it needs $120bn for defence in 2026 as war grinds on")
Russia Ukraine war LATEST Updates: Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed Thursday to continue fighting against what he described as nationalists in Ukraine and said the Kremlin could add to its demands at negotiations if Kyiv stalls talks. A total of 18,000 Indian nationals have left Ukraine since our first advisory was released, said MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Thursday. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday accused Western politicians of considering nuclear war, one week after Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine. The EU is expected to rapidly approve a protection mechanism for war refugees fleeing Ukraine – so far numbered at one million – and to also set up a humanitarian hub in Romania, officials said Thursday. Delegations from Russia and Ukraine are expected to hold talks in Belarus on Thursday, a second round of face-to-face discussions since the Russian invasion eight days ago. The Ekho Moskvy radio station – a symbol of newfound media freedom in post-Soviet Russia – said Thursday it would shut down after it was taken off air over its coverage of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Ratings agencies Fitch and Moody’s slashed Russia’s sovereign debt on Thursday to so-called “junk” status, or the category of countries at risk of not being able to repay their debt, after Moscow’s assault on Ukraine. Germany will increase its weapons deliveries to Ukraine following the Russian invasion by sending 2,700 anti-aircraft missiles to the conflict zone, a government source told AFP on Thursday. Eight people were killed, including two children, after overnight shelling by Russia in the Izyum area of Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv. US President Joe Biden will hold a virtual summit Thursday with the leaders of the other members of the Quad grouping Japan, Australia and India, New Delhi said. India on Thursday denied Russia’s claims that Indian students stranded in Ukraine were being held hostage by Ukrainian forces and used as “human shields.” Independent monitoring group OVD-Info says over 7,000 people in total in Russia have been detained at protests over the invasion of Ukraine Federation Internationale Feline (FIFe), an international cat fancier society, has imposed restrictions on cats bred in Russia in response to Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine. The NGO, FIFe Executive Board, in a statement, said that it is “shocked and horrified” that the army of the “Russian Federation invaded the Republic of Ukraine and started a war.” The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe says one of its members died during shelling in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, reports AP. Maryna Fenina was killed while getting supplies for her family, the group said in a news release Wednesday. Fenina worked with the organization’s monitoring mission in Ukraine Russian army personnel have forced their way into the council building in the Ukrainian city of Kherson, Mayor Igor Kolykhayev says, according to Reuters. The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor said an active probe into possible war crimes in Ukraine “will immediately proceed” after his office received the backing of 39 countries. The number of people sent fleeing Ukraine by Russia’s invasion topped 1 million on Wednesday, the swiftest refugee exodus this century, the United Nations said, as Russian forces kept up their bombardment of the country’s second-biggest city, Kharkiv, and laid siege to two strategic seaports. Russian forces have taken the Ukrainian city of Kherson, local officials confirmed, the first major urban centre to fall since Moscow invaded one week ago. Ukraine’s state emergency service has said that more than 2,000 civilians have been killed since Russia’s attack on Ukraine started on 24 February. Fighting continued for the sixth day as Russia intensified its attack on Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv. According to the city’s regional administration, 21 people were killed in Russian shelling in the last 24 hours. The number of people sent fleeing Ukraine by Russia’s invasion topped 1 million on Wednesday, the swiftest refugee exodus this century, the United Nations said, as Russian forces kept up their bombardment of the country’s second-biggest city, Kharkiv, and laid siege to two strategic seaports. The tally from the UN refugee agency released to The Associated Press amounts to more than 2 percent of Ukraine’s population being forced out of the country in less than a week. The mass evacuation could be seen in Kharkiv, where residents desperate to get away from falling shells and bombs crowded the city’s train station and tried to press onto trains, not always knowing where they were headed. In a videotaped address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Ukrainians to keep up the resistance. He vowed that the invaders would have “not one quiet moment” and described Russian soldiers as “confused children who have been used.” Moscow’s isolation deepened, meanwhile, when most of the world lined up against it at the United Nations to demand it withdraw from Ukraine. And the prosecutor for the International Criminal Court opened an investigation into possible war crimes. With fighting going on on multiple fronts across the country, Britain’s Defense Ministry said Mariupol, a large city on the Azov Sea, was encircled by Russian forces, while the status of another vital port, Kherson, a Black Sea shipbuilding city of 280,000, remained unclear. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces claimed to have taken complete control of Kherson, which would make it the biggest city to fall yet in the invasion. But a senior U.S. defense official disputed that. “Our view is that Kherson is very much a contested city," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Zelenskyy’s office told The Associated Press that it could not comment on the situation in Kherson while the fighting was still going on. But the mayor of Kherson, Igor Kolykhaev, said Russian soldiers were in the city and came to the city administration building. He said he asked them not to shoot civilians and to allow crews to gather up the bodies from the streets. “I simply asked them not to shoot at people,” he said in a statement. “We don’t have any Ukrainian forces in the city, only civilians and people here who want to LIVE.” Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko said the attacks there had been relentless. “We cannot even take the wounded from the streets, from houses and apartments today, since the shelling does not stop,” he was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying. Russia reported its military casualties for the first time since the invasion began last week, saying nearly 500 of its troops have been killed and almost 1,600 wounded. Ukraine did not disclose its own military losses but said more than 2,000 civilians have died, a claim that could not be independently verified.
Russia-Ukraine war LIVE Updates: Putin says military advance 'going as per plan'; PM Modi calls for return to dialogue
Russia Ukraine war LIVE Updates: ‘We hope that talks restore peace in Donbass and enable all people in Ukraine to return to peaceful life," Moscow said as Russian & Ukrainian delegations met for talks in Belarus
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Russia Ukraine War LATEST Updates
Top Russian General killed in Ukraine
Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky, the commanding general of the Russian 7th Airborne Division, was killed in fighting in Ukraine earlier this week.
His death was confirmed by a local officers’ organization in the Krasnodar region in southern Russia. The circumstances of his death were not immediately clear.
Sukhovetsky, who was 47, began his military service as a platoon commander after graduating from a military academy and steadily rose through the ranks to take a series of leadership positions. He took part in Russia’s military campaign in Syria.
He was also a deputy commander of the 41st Combined Arms Army.
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Operation Ganga: 18 flights scheduled for evacuation of Indians in next 24 hours
Russia Ukraine War LATEST Updates
‘Sit down with me to negotiate,’ Zelenskyy asks Putin to meet him
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet him, salting the proposal with sarcasm.
“Sit down with me to negotiate, just not at 30 meters," he said Thursday, apparently referring to recent photos of Putin sitting at one end of an extremely long table when he met with French President Emmanuel Macron.
“I don’t bite. What are you afraid of?” Zelenskyy said at a Thursday news conference.
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If Ukraine falls, Baltic states ’next’, warns Zelenskyy
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the West on Thursday to increase military aid to Ukraine, saying Russia would advance on the rest of Europe otherwise.
“If you do not have the power to close the skies, then give me planes!” Zelensky told a press conference. “If we are no more then, God forbid, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia will be next,” he said, adding: “Believe me.”
He called for direct talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, saying it was “the only way to stop this war.”
“We are not attacking Russia and we do not plan to attack it. What do you want from us? Leave our land,” he said, addressing Putin.
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India issues fresh advisory for citizens stranded in Ukraine
Russia Ukraine War LATEST Updates
Nine dead after Russian forces strike Ukraine’s Chernihiv
Nine people died and four were injured after Russian forces hit residential areas, including schools, in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, the local governor said on Thursday.
“Russian aircraft also attacked two schools in the Staraya Podusivka area (of Chernihiv) and private homes. Rescuers are working in the area,” the governor of the Chernihiv region, Vyacheslav Chaus, said on Telegram.
“According to the emergency services, nine people died and four are injured,” he added.
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Concerned over safety, security of citizens in Ukraine, says India at UN
“We are deeply concerned over the safety and security of thousands of Indian nationals, including young Indian students, who are still stranded in Ukraine. We are working together with neighbouring States for their evacuation,” India said at the 49th Human Rights Council Session.
“We have already dispatched humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. This includes medicines, medical equipment and other relief material. We are sending more such assistance in the coming days. This is an urgent necessity that must be effectively addressed,” the country added.
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Georgia formally applies for EU membership
Georgia officially applied for European Union membership on Thursday, its prime minister said, after the European Parliament expressed backing for a similar move by war-torn Ukraine.
“Georgia is a European state and continues to make a valuable contribution to its protection and development,” he added.
Georgia’s ruling party faced strong pressure from the opposition to follow Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s move to apply for EU membership — a bid which won backing from MEPs in a non-binding resolution.
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Quad leaders’ virtual meet underway
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is attending the meeting along with US President Joe Biden, Australian PM Scott Morrison and Japanese PM Fumio Kishida.
Russia Ukraine War LATEST Updates
130 buses ready to evacuate Indian students, foreigners from Ukraine: Russia
Russia is ready to send 130 buses to evacuate stranded Indian students and other foreigners from war-torn Ukraine’s Kharkiv and Sumy cities to its Belgorod Region, a top Russian military general said on Thursday.
The remarks by Russian National Defence Control Center head Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev come a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin and discussed the safe evacuation of Indians from the conflict areas in Ukraine.
Russia Ukraine War LATEST Updates
Second round of Russia-Ukraine talks underway in Belarus
“Direct talks between Russian and Ukrainian representatives are underway on Belarusian territory. We hope that they bring about an end to this situation, restore peace in Donbass and enable all people in Ukraine to return to peaceful life,” Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Russia Ukraine War LATEST Updates
Putin aiming to ‘seize whole of Ukraine’, says Macron aide
French president Emmanuel Macron believes “the worst is to come” in Ukraine after a 90-minute phone call with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin who appears intent on seizing “the whole” of the country, an aide to the French leader told AFP.
Putin again justified his invasion in terms of the “de-nazification” of Ukraine, said the aide. The aide described Putin’s comments as “shocking and unacceptable” adding that “the president told him it was lies.”
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‘Not too late to stop’ UK defence minister tells Putin
British defence secretary Ben Wallace on Thursday told Russian President Vladimir Putin it was “not too late to stop” the invasion of Ukraine.
The UK has taken a series of punitive actions against Moscow since Putin launched the attack last week, including sanctions on Russian banks.
“The message to President Putin is ‘Stop. It isn’t too late to stop what you are doing,” Wallace said during a press conference with his Estonian counterpart Kalle Laanet.
Russia Ukraine War LATEST Updates
Ukrainian parliament approves law to allow seizure of Russia-owned assets in Ukraine
Russia Ukraine War LATEST Updates
Russia to continue ‘uncompromising’ fight in Ukraine, Putin tells Macron
Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed Thursday to continue fighting against what he described as nationalists in Ukraine and said the Kremlin could add to its demands at negotiations if Kyiv stalls talks.
“Russia intends to continue the uncompromising fight against militants of nationalist armed groups,” Putin said according to a readout of a call with French leader Emmanuel Macron, which added that attempts to slow conflict talks would “only lead to additional demands on Kyiv in our negotiating position.”
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A few hundred Indians still stuck in Kharkiv, says MEA
Registration of 20,000 Indian nationals was done initially, but there were many who did not register. We estimate a few hundred citizens still remain in Kharkiv. Our priority is to take students out safely in whatever mode of transport possible, said MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Thursday.
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Second round of peace talks to be held today
A Ukrainian delegation is travelling by helicopter to meet Russian counterparts for the second round of talks, reports news agency Reuters citing a Ukrainian presidential adviser as saying. The talks will begin in a couple of hours, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said in an online post.
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Over 7,000 Indians to be brought back in 2 days: Centre
The Civil Aviation Ministry on Thursday informed more than 7,400 people are expected to be brought back to India in special flights in the next two days.
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UN human rights body mulls investigation
The UN’s top human rights body is holding an urgent debate on the situation in Ukraine and the possibility of creating a panel to investigate any abuses during Russia’s war with its neighbor.
The meeting is set to culminate in a vote Friday on whether to set up a three-person expert panel, following Russia’s invasion last week.
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UN aid chief says $1.5 billion already raised for Ukraine
The UN’s emergency relief coordinator Martin Griffiths on Thursday pleaded for humanitarians to be allowed to work unhindered in Ukraine, adding in an interview with AFP that with $1.5 billion raised for urgent aid “we have the resources”.
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France seizes superyacht linked to Russian energy boss Sechin
The French government on Thursday said it had seized a luxury superyacht belonging to a company linked to Igor Sechin, the chief executive of Russian energy giant Rosneft and a close confidant of President Vladimir Putin.
The vessel, Amore Vero, was seized in the French harbour of La Ciotat on the Cote d’Azur as part of EU sanctions agreed against Russia and is held by a company in which Sechin is the main shareholder, the French finance ministry said.
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China denies asking Russia to delay invasion until after Olympics
China on Thursday denied a report it asked Russia to delay its invasion of Ukraine until after the Beijing Winter Olympics, as international scrutiny grows of warming ties between the two powers.
Beijing has taken a cautious line over the actions of its close ally and President Xi Jinping held a meeting last month with his Russian counterpart where the pair agreed to a “no limits” partnership.
Since then, Beijing has not condemned the invasion of Ukraine but has stopped short of outright support.
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Centre pushing out videos on how to remain safe in war zones
With several Indians still stuck in strife-torn Ukraine, the government is pushing out videos on various platforms, including social media, on how to remain safe in a war zone.
Experts, including former generals, were interviewed by public broadcaster Doordarshan on ways to remain safe amid shelling and missile attacks in conflict areas, where food and potable water are also in short supply.
These videos are now being pushed on various platforms, including YouTube and Twitter, for people to easily access them, sources in the government said.
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Russia’s Lavrov accuses West of considering ’nuclear war’
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday accused Western politicians of considering nuclear war, one week after Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine.
“I would like to point out that it’s in the heads of Western politicians that the idea of a nuclear war is spinning constantly, and not in the heads of Russians,” Lavrov said in an interview with Russian and foreign media.
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Israel wants to push Russia, Ukraine to talks
Israel’s prime minister is calling on world leaders to get Russia and Ukraine “out of the battlefield and to the negotiating table” after a week of fighting.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett spoke in English on Thursday at a cyber tech conference in Tel Aviv, less than a day after he spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Israel maintains good relations with both countries. It has condemned Russia’s invasion and sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine, but the same time has avoided taking a stance that might anger Moscow. Russia and Israel cooperate on military operations in Syria.
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EU set to offer protection to fleeing Ukrainians
The EU is expected to rapidly approve a protection mechanism for war refugees fleeing Ukraine — so far numbered at one million — and to also set up a humanitarian hub in Romania, officials said Thursday.
The moves by the European Union came in parallel to its muscular sanctions on Russia imposed in successive waves over the course of the invasion, now in its eighth day.
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Russian charged over plot to murder Chechen in Germany
A Russian man has been charged with plotting to kill a Chechen dissident living in Germany on the orders of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, prosecutors said Thursday. The suspect, named as Valid D., is accused of planning the murder commissioned by the state, carrying out shooting exercises with the intended hitman and spying on the target.
“A member of the security apparatus of Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov commissioned the accused Valid D. with the logistical organisation of the killing of an opposition member” in the first half of 2020, prosecutors said.
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Jaishankar briefs consultative panel on Ukraine crisis
The opposition stands united with the government, several leaders said on Thursday after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar briefed the consultative committee of his ministry on Russia’s attack on Ukraine and the evacuation of students from the war-hit nation.
The meeting of the 21-member committee, chaired by Jaishankar, was attended by nine MPs from six parties and came in for fulsome praise from some leaders.
“We all are united,” Tharoor told reporters after the meeting that was also attended by former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his party colleague Anand Sharma.
-PTI
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Russian, Belarusian athletes banned from Winter Paralympics
Russian and Belarusian athletes were on Thursday banned from the Beijing Winter Paralympics over the war in Ukraine, with organisers bowing to international pressure and threats of a boycott.
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) had just a day earlier said athletes from the two countries would be allowed to compete as “neutrals” in the Games, which start on Friday.
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Delegations from Russia, Ukraine to hold talks in Belarus today
Delegations from Russia and Ukraine are expected to hold talks in Belarus on Thursday, a second round of face-to-face discussions since the Russian invasion eight days ago.
In a video address to the nation early Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Ukrainians to keep up their resistance, but didn’t comment on whether the Russians have seized any cities.
“They will have no peace here,” Zelenskyy said, calling on the Russian soldiers to “go home” and describing them as “confused children who have been used.”
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UN says at least 227 civilians dead in Ukraine
The UN human rights office says 227 civilians have been killed and another 525 injured in its latest count of the toll in Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s military invasion that began a week ago.The office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights says the tally eclipses the entire civilian casualty count from the war in eastern Ukraine between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces in 2014 — which left 136 dead and 577 injured.
-AP
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UK sanctions insurance services for Russian aviation companies
Britain on Thursday announced new sanctions preventing Russian companies in the aviation and space industry from accessing British insurance and reinsurance services following the invasion of Ukraine.
“Russian companies in the aviation or space industry will be prevented from making use of UK-based insurance or reinsurance services directly or indirectly… in response to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia,” the treasury office said in a statement.
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Nearly 650 Delhi residents stranded in Ukraine, help being extended to families
Around 650 Delhi residents are still stranded in war-torn Ukraine while 215 people belonging to the national capital have been brought back so far, officials in the city government said on Thursday.
Government officials said that according to a list given by the Centre, nearly 870 people of Delhi were in Ukraine.
Till Wednesday night, district authorities including district magistrates, sub-divisional magistrates visited homes of over 550 students who have either been evacuated or are still stuck in Ukraine, officials said.
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Russia’s liberal radio station Ekho Moskvy closes
The Ekho Moskvy radio station — a symbol of newfound media freedom in post-Soviet Russia — said Thursday it would shut down after it was taken off air over its coverage of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
“By a majority vote of the Ekho Moskvy board of directors, it was decided to liquidate the Ekho Moskvy radio station and website,” its editor-in-chief Alexei Venediktov said on Telegram.
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Fitch, Moody’s slash Russia’s sovereign debt ratings to junk
Ratings agencies Fitch and Moody’s slashed Russia’s sovereign debt on Thursday to so-called “junk” status, or the category of countries at risk of not being able to repay their debt, after Moscow’s assault on Ukraine.
Moody’s downgraded the rating on Russian long-term debt from Baa3 to B3 subject to a further review over the West’s sanctions against Russia, while Fitch lowered its rating from BBB to B, also with a negative outlook.
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Germany to deliver 2,700 further anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine
Germany will increase its weapons deliveries to Ukraine following the Russian invasion by sending an 2,700 anti-aircraft missiles to the conflict zone, a government source told AFP on Thursday.
The government “approved further support for Ukraine”, involving the delivery of STRELA-type anti-aircraft missiles of Soviet manufacture, which were previously used by the army of communist East Germany, the source said.
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France fears ’the worst ahead of us’ in Russia’s war on Ukraine
France on Thursday expressed fear that the worst phase of Russia’s war on Ukraine could be yet to start, with key Ukrainian cities at risk of encirclement by Russian forces.
“I think it is possible that the worst is ahead of us,” Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told France 2 TV, saying that Russia had entered into a “logic of siege” after its initial expectations of a quick victory were scuppered by Ukrainian resistance.
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Japan’s Toyota suspends operations at Russia plant
Toyota said Thursday it would suspend operations at its only factory in Russia and stop shipping vehicles to the country, citing “supply chain disruptions” linked to Moscow’s assault on Ukraine, reports AFP.
The world’s top-selling carmaker said its plant in Saint Petersburg produced around 80,000 vehicles last year, mainly for the Russian market and representing just a fraction of the 10.5 million vehicles made worldwide by the Japanese group.
The Saint Petersburg plant employs around 2,600 people, a Toyota spokeswoman told AFP, confirming the supply disruption was linked to the conflict.
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Biden to hold virtual summit with Japan, Australia, India today
US President Joe Biden will hold a virtual summit Thursday with the leaders of the other members of the Quad grouping Japan, Australia and India, New Delhi said.
The statement from India’s foreign ministry came a day after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin for the second time since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine last week.
The US has called on Delhi to use its “leverage” with Moscow.
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Eight killed in Russian attack in Izyum
Eight persons, including two children, have died as a result of a Russian attack on the city of Izyum in Kharkiv Oblast, The Kyiv Independent reported.