India's Role in Ending Russia-Ukraine War: A Proactive Push for Peace

India has recently been in the thick of diplomatic efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. A series of high-level engagements has taken place— External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin , Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s talks with Putin at the SCO summit, where he urged an end to the war “for humanity’s sake” , and Jaishankar’s trip to Kyiv, where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked India for its “ commitment to ending this unjust war ”. A more proactive role for India in the push for peace is welcome. New Delhi should now build on this momentum and use its access to both Moscow and Kyiv to press harder for a negotiated settlement at a time when the US is caught up in the competing demands of the conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia. Washington and Moscow remain in contact even as the fighting continues with their support. US President Donald Trump ’s top negotiators met Putin over the weekend. More significantly, CIA Director John Ratcliffe made a secret trip to Moscow two weeks ago. The last known visit to Russia by someone holding that office was nearly five years ago, to warn the Kremlin that the US was aware of its plans to invade Ukraine — a deterrence effort that ultimately failed. Ratcliffe’s objective, reportedly, was to convince the Kremlin to cut a deal. The diplomatic pursuit, however, is yet to alter the strategic reality: The US provides Ukraine with intelligence to strike targets inside Russia, while Russia is doing the same for Iran in the Gulf. For all the talk of a reset since the Trump-Putin summit at Anchorage more than a year ago, the two countries remain on opposing sides of two active conflicts. Neither Ukraine nor Russia is willing to back down in the face of escalation. Russia has intensified its drone and missile strikes on Ukraine, while Ukraine has relentlessly targeted Russian energy infrastructure. The disruption has been severe enough for Moscow to turn to India for petrol imports, while restrictions on fuel sales have been imposed across the country. Across Europe, a series of suspected acts of sabotage are being investigated for possible links to Russia. Any loss of life on European soil could increase the risk of the war spilling further into the continent. The imperative, therefore, is to bring Moscow and Kyiv back to the table and establish, first, a basis for a ceasefire. The protection of energy and civilian infrastructure, as well as commercial shipping lanes in the Black Sea, could be among the first steps. New Delhi should use the upcoming BRICS summit, with Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping expected to attend, to push for a collective call for such confidence-building measures.