“India is deeply disturbed by the recent turn of developments in Ukraine. We urge that all efforts are made for the immediate cessation of violence and hostilities. No solution can ever be arrived at the cost of human lives,” said India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador T S Tirumurti on behalf of India, which abstained from voting on a UNSC resolution that condemned Russia’s “aggression” against Ukraine and demanded the withdrawal of Russian forces from the neighbouring country. By abstaining, India has chosen to keep its window open to reach out to concerned sides in an effort to find the middle ground with an aim to foster back dialogue and diplomacy.

There are times when even history fails to provide any account or instances that one could refer to in order to shepherd a way out of a crisis. While the recent launch of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia is not unfamiliar to history, it has certainly increased the criticality quotient for India, as it handles its UNSC Presidency with utmost ministration, and at the same time pulls out all the stops to evacuate Indians back to its soil.

The military attacks on Ukraine has reshuffled an already intricate world order, leaving India to walk on a tightrope of protecting its diplomatic ties with the NATO states as well as with CSTO and Russia. As both of these alliances enjoy the veto votes in UNSC, It would make it rather difficult for India, which has been seeking a permanent membership at the high table, to chair a council that has already begun to split into factions.

The US too has to settle on a decision. Either it could allow Ukraine to be steamrolled and Moscow to get all power-backed. Or it could decide to intervene indirectly and levy sanctions that do not hurt Russia directly. Or it could also intervene directly and maybe even launch a nuclear war that would devastate the world and all the people living in it.

As for the imposition of financial sanctions on Russia, the possibilities of such counterattacks are never hard to guess. Perhaps, this is why it looks like Washington is taking the second option of levying enormous sanctions on the Kremlin that would hurt some but not all of its sectors. In such a case, the world could contemplate the following choices : i) Focus on saving more and more Ukrainian lives, ii) Focus on preventing anymore destruction in Ukraine, iii) Focus on how to halt Russia’s massive offensive into Ukrainian territory, iv) Rebuild Ukraine after the war.

However, the above mentioned choices seem far from getting picked currently, which could result in a more deteriorating aftermath and might leave Russia’s next targets, the Stans, vulnerable. Peace should try to be restored by India and others, or else the world might end up giving birth to another humanitarian crisis. India has prioritized citizens first, of the world and of its own. Ensuring this is also in tandem with action points identified by NATO leaders, as they called on Russia to stop the “senseless war” & immediately cease its assault by withdrawing all its forces from Ukraine, and turn back to the path of dialogue.

Time and again, India has shown the world how swiftly it could react on matters pertaining to the security and safety of Indians across the globe. From Operation Sankat Mochan (evacuation of 46 Indian nurses from ISIS) to recently concluded Operation Devi Shakti (evacuation of Indians and Afghans from Afghanistan) the world has witnessed India’s unrelenting grit in face of crises. Amidst the spiraling tensions between Russia and Ukraine, India is once again up to pick the challenge of bringing back thousands of their nationals stuck in the foreign land to their home country.

“I underline once again that more than 20,000 Indian nationals including students are located in different parts of Ukraine including in its border area. We are facilitating the return of all Indian nationals including students as may be required,” India’s Permanent Representative to UN, Ambassador T S Tirumurti said today. India is ready to reach out and take care of every citizen, no matter what the crisis is. The present Russia-Ukraine crisis has spiralled into dangerous territory however.

He further said that, “The Security Council has met two days ago and discussed the situation. We had called for urgent de-escalation of tensions and emphasised on sustained and focus diplomacy to address all issues concerning the situation. However, we note with a regret that the calls of the international community that give time to the recent initiative undertaken by parties to defuse tensions were not heeded to. The situation is dangerous spiralling into a major crisis. We express our deep concern over the developments which if not handled carefully may will undermine the peace and security of region. We call for immediate de-escalation and for refraining from any further action that could contribute to worsening of situation. We call on all party to exert greater effort to bridge divergent interest. I would like to underline that the legitimate security interest of all the parties should be fully taken into account. India has consistently advocated at the United Nations the need for peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with International law and with agreements entered into by parties concerned.”

Amidst weeks of diplomatic efforts to broker a peace settlement between Russia and Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced ‘a special military operations’ in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region. Following Moscow’s act, the West has rallied in their support for Ukraine. Condemning Russia’s attack as ‘unprovoked and unjustified’, US President Joe Biden said, “Russia alone is responsible for the death and destruction this attack will bring, and the United States and its Allies and partners will respond in a united and decisive way. The world will hold Russia accountable.”

India has put its stand in very clear words that, “We believe that the solution lies in the sustained diplomatic dialogue between the concerned parties. In the mean time we strongly emphasize the vital need for all sides to maintain international peace and security by exercising the utmost restrain.”