The Republic of India recognised Ukraine as a sovereign country in December 1991 following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and established diplomatic relations in January 1992. The Indian Embassy in Kyiv was opened in May 1992 and Ukraine opened its Mission in New Delhi in February 1993. The Consulate General of India in Odesa functioned from 1962 until its closure in March 1999.
History
Bilateral treaties and agreements
More than 17 bilateral agreements have been signed between India and Ukraine, including agreements on Co-operation in Science and Technology, Foreign Office Consultation, Co-operation in Space Research, Avoidance of Double Taxation and Promotion and Protection of Investments. During Aero India 2021, Ukraine signed four agreements worth ₹530 crore (equivalent to ₹595 crore or US$71 million in 2023) with India which includes sale of new weapons as well as maintenance and upgrades of existing ones in service with the Indian armed forces.[1]
Trade relations
The India-Ukraine trade relation and economic co-operation has developed on the basis the long-standing friendship between the two countries. In March, 1992 the Treaty on Friendship and Co-operation was signed between India and Ukraine, providing a major boost to India-Ukraine trade relations.
Indo-Ukrainian trade relations have been developing at a very fast pace. There has been a threefold increase in the India Ukraine trade during 2003-2005 and it has exceeded US$1 billion. Ukraine imports from India have doubled and stand at US$3,214 million in 2006, while Ukraine exports to India have increased by 3.6 times and stands at US$7,369 million in 2006. The total turnover in India-Ukraine trade during 2005-2006 has exceeded US$3.1 billion (as of January, 2014).[2] The main items being imported by Ukraine from India are drugs, pharmaceutical production, ores and minerals, tobacco products, tea, coffee, spices, silk and jute. The main items imported by India from Ukraine are chemicals, equipment, machines and engines. Bilateral trade between the two countries has grown significantly in the last 25 years and in 2018–19, was almost US$2.8 Billion. India is Ukraine's largest export destination in the Asia-Pacificand the fifth largest overall export destination.[3][non-primary source needed]
Both the Ukrainian and Indian governments take part in the sessions of the Ukraine Indian Inter-Governmental Commission which hold the Joint Business Council Meeting of Ukraine-India. This has given a major boost to India Ukraine trade relations. Ukraine is not a new member in the Indian industry as its enterprises are actively involved and form the backbone of Indian power sector and heavy industries among others.
There are such joint stock companies as 'Ukrindustry' that has won contracts for conducting coke battery reconstruction at the plants of metallurgy in Rourkela and Bokaro. There are also Azovmash and Novokramatorskyi machine building plants that supply oxygen converter manufacturing equipment. India-Ukraine trade relations has also been successful in increasing co-operation between the two countries in technology and scientific field.
Science and technology relations
Under the Agreement signed between India and Ukraine in May 1992, the Joint S&T Committee meets annually to discuss implementation of projects, holding of exhibitions and co-operation in scientific research. The Committee last met in Kyiv in October 2007 and approved 11 S&T projects for implementation. Days of Ukrainian Science and Technology were held in New Delhi in December 2004. National Space Agency of Ukraine and ISRO have ongoing co-operation in the space sector. Ukraine has a very strong IT Sector. Many offshore call centres have been successful. Aptech Limited from Mumbai has signed an Agreement in May 2004 with International Institute of Personnel Management (the biggest IT training centre in Ukraine) to organise IT programmes for schools and institutions in Ukraine. Bio-technology is the latest sector where companies such as Biocon, Genome etc. are co-operating with each other. It also supplies turbines for thermal, hydroelectric and nuclear power plants.
In 2005, then PresidentA. P. J. Abdul Kalam expressed interest in strengthening co-operation with Ukraine in the field of space research during a speech given to Indians in Ukraine.[citation needed] He and members of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) later visited the Ukrainian space agency Yuzhnoye, one of the largest rocket manufacturing units in the world.[4]
India has had friendly relations with Ukraine even when the latter was a republic part of the Soviet Union. Annual Foreign Office consultations are held at Secretary level. The Deputy Foreign Minister in charge of the Asia region represents the Ukrainian side in these consultations. Ukraine has been positively co-operating with India at the international level also. Ukraine supports the resolution of the issue of Jammu & Kashmir on the basis of bilateral Simla agreement by India and Pakistan.[5] Ukraine also supports reforms of the UN structure.
Ukraine was, however, a member of the Conference on Disarmament where Mykola Maimeskul, the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations, had condemned the nuclear testing by India.[9] The Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations, Volodymyr Yelchenko, further condemned India for testing nuclear weapons in a special additional statement.[8]
Position on Crimea
After the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, India abstained from a resolution condemning it.[10] India also does not support international sanctions against Russia.[11] In December 2014, Prime Minister of Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, made an unofficial visit to India to sign a memorandum with a business group called the Indian-Crimean Partnership. India's Ministry of External Affairs spokesman said that he was not officially aware of the visit by Mr. Aksyonov. The spokesman also said that Mr. Aksyonov was not a member of Putin's delegation.[12] However, some experts have expressed scepticism regarding the explanation offered by India's Ministry of External Affairs spokesman. Ukraine president criticised India for allowing Sergey Aksyonov to visit India.[11] U.S. State Department spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, also expressed concerns regarding the visit.[13]
In November 2020, India, along with 22 other countries, voted against a Ukraine-sponsored resolution in the United Nations condemning alleged human rights violations by Russia in Crimea.[14]
Government of India had also refused to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine and termed India-Russia friendship "unbreakable". Following the invasion of Ukraine, India doubled down on buying large amount of Russian oil at discounted price and continued placing order for Russian-made weapons.[21] This made Russia the 3rd largest oil supplier to India in 2022. In 2021, Russia was at the 17th spot, supplying only about 1 percent of India’s overall oil imports.[22] From April 2022 to January 2023, India's Russian import rose by 384%, mainly driven by increased import of Russian oil.[23] Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba criticized India for profiting from buying cheap Russian oil.[24] On 29 December 2022, following the Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure, Kuleba tweeted, "There can be no ‘neutrality’ in the face of such mass war crimes. Pretending to be ‘neutral’ equals taking Russia’s side.".[25] The Indian government has provided a significant amount of non-violent and humanitarian aid to Ukraine including essential medicines, essential medical equipment and school buses, emphasising on its de-hyphenated policy.[26]
In March 2024, Dmytro Kuleba said on a visit to India that the country should be concerned about Russia’s deepening ties with China. He declared that “the co-operation between India and Russia is largely based on the Soviet legacy. But this is not the legacy that will be kept for centuries; it is a legacy that is evaporating.” Kuleba emphasized that Ukraine is interested in restoring trade with India and that Indian companies are welcome to participate in the recovery of the country.[27]
In July 2024, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized Narendra Modi's visit to Moscow as a "huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts".[29] The two embraced as Modi climbed out of his car; this act was criticized by Zelenskyy as it happened on the same day that Russian missiles struck a children's hospital in Kyiv.[30]
In August 2024, Modi visited Ukraine, marking his first visit to Ukraine by any Prime Minister.[31]
Accusations of racism against foreigners
During the start of the Russo-Ukraine war, large scale racial segregation was reported by multiple news sources showing that people of Indian, African, and Middle East origin were not permitted to board evacuation busses headed for Europe.[32][33]
The Ukraine Defense Ministry’s official Twitter account posted a caricature image mocking the Hindu deity Maa Kaali and called it a "Work of Art". Following subsequent backlash, Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzheppar Dzhaparova tweeted "We regret @DefenceU (Ukraine Defense Ministry’s official Twitter account) depicting Hindu Goddess Kali in a distorted manner.[34]
On 2 September 2022, The Economic Times reported that India has strongly raised objection against the transfer of Pakistan's manufactured arms and ammunition to Ukraine through Royal Air Force's aircraft with the government of United Kingdom.[38]
Indian diaspora
A small but vibrant Indian community lives in Ukraine, composed mostly of business professionals and students. There are about 18,000 Indian students studying in Ukraine, mainly in the field of medicine. Indian business professionals work predominantly in the fields of pharmaceuticals, IT, engineering, medicine, and education. The ‘India Club’, founded by Indian expats in 2001, actively engages the Indian diaspora in Ukraine and organises several events - such as a Diwali festival, cricket tournaments, a Holi festival, Indian dance festival, screenings of Bollywood movies, etc.[3][39] An Indian student from Madlauda wrote an autobiography on his life in Ukraine, the atrocities of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and resulting Operation Ganga in a book titled The Life of Tolka.[40]
On March 4, 2022, India asked Ukraine and Russia to enforce a truce in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy to allow hundreds of Indian students besieged there to be evacuated as the situation worsened.[41]
^"UNSC resolution condemning Russia: India likely to abstain". The Economic Times. 26 February 2022. India had refrained from condemning Soviet invasion of Hungary, in 1956, Czechoslovakia, in 1968, and Afghanistan, in 1979. It did the same when Russia invaded Crimea in 2014. Incidentally, Ukraine had vehemently opposed India's 1998 nuclear tests at the UN. Ukraine also voted in favour of UN Resolution 1172 that condemned the tests. Kyiv had given up its nuclear arsenal in its territory after the breakup of the Soviet Union.
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