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Russia has thrown its weight behind India’s latest diplomatic push to find a way out of the Ukraine war, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying Moscow
is grateful for New Delhi’s willingness to make a practical contribution to a settlement. The Kremlin’s response comes days after Ukraine described India’s proposal as the “broadest” of four ceasefire initiatives currently under discussion. Peskov said India was showing a readiness to help resolve the conflict and welcomed the ideas being put forward by New Delhi.
What India’s Proposal Seeks
The Indian proposal goes beyond a narrow halt in battlefield fighting. According to people familiar with the plan, it has three broad elements: stopping attacks on energy facilities and other infrastructure, keeping grain and energy moving through Black Sea ports, and ending strikes on commercial shipping in the strategic waterway.
That approach has attracted attention in Kyiv because it attempts to address several interconnected fronts of the war rather than treating a frontline ceasefire in isolation.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Kyiv had received proposals from India, Turkiye, Egypt and the United States. He described India’s as the broadest and said Ukraine was prepared to consider an energy and Black Sea ceasefire, provided the arrangement covered attacks on energy and port infrastructure as well.
Black Sea Becomes A Key Test
The Black Sea has become an increasingly important part of the war, with attacks affecting ports, infrastructure and commercial vessels. Any agreement covering the waterway would therefore have implications beyond military operations, particularly for shipping and commodity flows.
Kyiv has also continued to call for an unconditional ceasefire along the frontline. Moscow, however, has rejected that approach and argued that the conflict should ultimately be resolved through a comprehensive peace agreement.
India’s initiative is gaining momentum alongside repeated public support from Russian President Vladimir Putin for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts. Putin recently said Modi regularly raises the question of ending the war and has “very good ideas” for finding mutually acceptable solutions.
With Russia now openly welcoming New Delhi’s efforts and Ukraine calling its proposal the broadest on the table, the next test will be whether the two sides can turn support for individual ceasefire measures into an arrangement that both are prepared to implement.
