Neutrality won't help stop war: Ukraine's foreign minister on India's stand

As India has abstained from taking an explicit position against either Russia or Ukraine amid the ongoing war between the two countries, Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba has stated that neutrality is the position "that doesn't help in stopping the war."  
 
In an interview with India Today, Kuleba said that Ukraine appreciates the sympathy coming from the leadership of India for the nation, but at the same time under the current circumstances, neutrality won't help in stopping the war. He added that the best way to stop the war between Russia and Ukraine is to "support Ukraine and leave Russia with no illusions that it may win the war."  
 
"In my view, in times when you have an obvious criminal and a victim of his crime, it's a moral and politically wise duty to be on the side of the victim," Kuleba noted.

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As the war between Russia and Ukraine continues unabated, since it started on February 24, many countries across the globe have taken a side or chosen not to. India belongs to the second category, maintaining that it is on the side of peace and has appealed to both nations to end the war.   
 
India-Russia relations  

Acknowledging that India has close ties with Russia, Kuleba said, "One point should be taken into account. This Russia is different from the one India was developing a special relationship with. This Russia tortures, kills, rapes and manipulates. This Russia is in strategic decline. I hope Indian leadership will stand on the right side of history."  
He added that the Russia-Ukraine war is also a war between the democratic world and an authoritarian one. Thus, Kuleba stressed that it would be the "most natural choice" for India, as a big democratic nation, to stand by democracy.  
 
He further stated that Russia is not as "reliable" a supplier of defence equipment to India as usually assumed.  
 
"Ukraine has effectively destroyed the most advanced Russian weapons on the battleground. So is it really in India's interest to buy weapons which don't survive on the battleground?" Kuleba asked.  
 
He added that India should decide who to pick as its trade partners strategically as the country is "on the rise while Russia is in decline."  

Also Read: India wants Russians out from Ukraine, says Boris Johnson
 
Russia's war crimes  

Speaking to India Today, Ukraine's foreign minister said that Russia was conducting warfare in Ukraine in a savage and 'barbarian' way.  

"Russia will bear responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity on Ukrainian territory. Some towns and villages in Donbas don't exist anymore because Russia razed them to the ground," Kuleba said.  
 
He stated that Ukrainian authorities had discovered over a thousand bodies of civilians, the majority of them shot, around the capital Kyiv.  
 
"They didn't die in bomb attacks. They were shot directly by Russian soldiers. Many had their hands tied behind their backs," Kuleba explained.

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Nuclear war looming?  

Despite the brutality in the war, the Ukrainian foreign minister said he is convinced that Russia will not use nuclear weapons.  
 
"Moscow understands that nuclear war will mean the end of Moscow. I don't know Putin's mind but if there are any remains of reason and wisdom, he will understand that resorting to nuclear weapons will mean the end of Russia," Kuleba said.  
 
"Russia is engaging in scare-mongering and blackmailing. Russia knows how to perfectly blackmail the world. The last thing we should do is to buy it. We've to remain confident and united," he added.