PM Modi Speaks to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephone conversation with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, on 9 November 2026. The call covered the war that is still going on in that country as well as the road ahead for ties between New Delhi and Kyiv.

What the two leaders took up

The Ukrainian President set out his own reading of the latest turns in the fighting. The Prime Minister, in reply, repeated the stand India has held from the start of the war: a conflict of this kind will not be settled on the battlefield, and the way out of it runs through dialogue and diplomacy. He described India's approach as a human-centric one, which places the suffering of ordinary people at the centre of the question rather than the claims of either army. He went on to say that India is willing to contribute to every effort being made towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

The bilateral part of the call

The conversation was not confined to the war. The two leaders also examined steps to deepen cooperation between India and Ukraine in a range of sectors, which they framed as work for the mutual benefit of the people of both countries. The announcement of the call came from the Prime Minister's Office.

Why it matters for an aspirant

• The two expressions India uses for its stand on this conflict, a human-centric approach and a settlement reached through dialogue and diplomacy, come up again and again in questions on Indian foreign policy, so they are worth learning as they stand.
• Zelenskyy is the head of state of Ukraine and holds the office of President; Modi is India's head of government as Prime Minister. Questions often turn on matching the leader to the correct office and country.
• Telephone conversations between leaders are a regular instrument of diplomacy, and the Prime Minister's Office issues a readout of each one, which is how such calls enter the current affairs of the day.
• The call also carried a bilateral agenda, so India-Ukraine cooperation across sectors was on the table alongside the conflict itself.