News Analysis India

Tag: Russia-Ukraine war

  • Ukraine minister says India a vishwaguru, seeks help to rebuild war-torn country

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: India is a global player and also a vishwaguru, said visiting Ukrainian deputy minister of foreign affairs Emine Dzhaparova, adding that the war that is raging with Russia needs to be questioned for the sake of justice.

    “Nearly 10,000 Ukrainians have died as a result of this war. PM Modi had rightly said in Samarkhand that ‘this is not an era for war’. Like India, Ukraine too has never attacked another country. With India being at the helm of G20, we hope it will be involved and engaged in global issues and challenges,” Dzhaparova added.

    The minister has a strong India connect as she considers Sri Satya Sai Baba her beloved guru.

    “I have visited Putaparty at least seven times, as Sai Baba was my spiritual guru,” she said adding that she was very familiar with India.

    She is also hoping that India will provide Ukraine with humanitarian aid and also help in reconstruction work across the country.

    ALSO READ | Dalai Lama apologises for kissing boy at public event after video goes viral

    This is the first visit of a Ukrainian minister to India since the outbreak of the conflict in February last year. The Minister met MEA’s Secretary West, Sanjay Verma, on Monday and said they had far-ranging bilateral discussions.

    “During the meeting I gave a brief of the military situation in Ukraine which is difficult as civilians have lost their lives and infrastructure has been damaged and broken,” she said adding that they were not in a position to instruct India on whether it should import oil from Russia.

    The Ukrainian government has requested aid in pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, as well as energy equipment to help repair infrastructure damaged during the ongoing conflict.

    The minister will also be meeting Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi and Deputy National Security Advisor Vikram Misri during her visit.

    India shares warm and friendly relations and multifaceted cooperation with Ukraine. Over the last 30 years of establishing diplomatic relations, bilateral cooperation between the two countries has made significant progress in the areas of trade, education, culture and defence. The visit will be an occasion to further mutual understanding and interests.

    NEW DELHI: India is a global player and also a vishwaguru, said visiting Ukrainian deputy minister of foreign affairs Emine Dzhaparova, adding that the war that is raging with Russia needs to be questioned for the sake of justice.

    “Nearly 10,000 Ukrainians have died as a result of this war. PM Modi had rightly said in Samarkhand that ‘this is not an era for war’. Like India, Ukraine too has never attacked another country. With India being at the helm of G20, we hope it will be involved and engaged in global issues and challenges,” Dzhaparova added.

    The minister has a strong India connect as she considers Sri Satya Sai Baba her beloved guru.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    “I have visited Putaparty at least seven times, as Sai Baba was my spiritual guru,” she said adding that she was very familiar with India.

    She is also hoping that India will provide Ukraine with humanitarian aid and also help in reconstruction work across the country.

    ALSO READ | Dalai Lama apologises for kissing boy at public event after video goes viral

    This is the first visit of a Ukrainian minister to India since the outbreak of the conflict in February last year. The Minister met MEA’s Secretary West, Sanjay Verma, on Monday and said they had far-ranging bilateral discussions.

    “During the meeting I gave a brief of the military situation in Ukraine which is difficult as civilians have lost their lives and infrastructure has been damaged and broken,” she said adding that they were not in a position to instruct India on whether it should import oil from Russia.

    The Ukrainian government has requested aid in pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, as well as energy equipment to help repair infrastructure damaged during the ongoing conflict.

    The minister will also be meeting Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi and Deputy National Security Advisor Vikram Misri during her visit.

    India shares warm and friendly relations and multifaceted cooperation with Ukraine. Over the last 30 years of establishing diplomatic relations, bilateral cooperation between the two countries has made significant progress in the areas of trade, education, culture and defence. The visit will be an occasion to further mutual understanding and interests.

  • ‘Global governance has failed’: Indian PM Modi at G20 meet

    By AFP

    NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Thursday for the G20 to bridge differences over Ukraine, telling the opening of a meeting in New Delhi that global governance has “failed”.

    “The experience of the last few years -– financial crisis, climate change, pandemic, terrorism and wars — clearly shows that global governance has failed,” Modi said in a recorded statement opening the meeting of G20 foreign ministers.

    “We are meeting at a time of deep global divisions… We all have our positions and our perspectives on how these tensions (can) be resolved. However, as the leading economies of the world, we also have a responsibility for those who are not in this room,” Modi said.

    India had wanted its G20 presidency this year to focus on issues such as alleviating poverty and climate finance, but the Ukraine war has so far crowded out other agenda items.

    The gathering will see US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in the same room for the first time since July, but the two men are unlikely to hold talks.

    Western delegates fear China is considering supplying arms to its Russian ally and they will use the foreign ministers’ summit to discourage Beijing from intervening in the conflict.

    India’s longstanding security ties with Russia have put the host of Thursday’s meeting in an awkward diplomatic position after refusing to condemn the invasion over the past year.

    Addressing the Opening Segment of G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting. @g20org https://t.co/s73ypWruBf
    — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 2, 2023
    But EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he was confident India would use the meeting to “make Russia understand that this war has to finish”.

    “Certainly the success of the meeting today will be measured in respect to what we will be able to do on that,” he told reporters Wednesday.

    Borrell will meet on the sidelines of the New Delhi summit with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, where he will seek assurances that Beijing will not lend support to Russia’s war effort.

    “Until now, the answer has been clearly stated by China, ‘it hasn’t happened and it won’t happen,’ but we have to remain vigilant,” said a senior EU official with knowledge of the matter.

    Chinese state news agency Xinhua last week quoted top diplomat Wang Yi as saying Beijing was willing to “strengthen strategic coordination” with Russia after meeting Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

    ‘Zero evidence’

    Blinken said he had no plans to meet with either the Russian or Chinese foreign ministers at the G20 summit.

    The last time Blinken and Lavrov were in the same room, at a G20 meeting in Bali last July, the latter stormed out according to Western officials.

    “If Russia — President Putin — were genuinely prepared to engage in meaningful diplomacy necessary to end the aggression, of course we’d be the first to work to engage, but there’s zero evidence of that,” Blinken said.

    Blinken had a fiery encounter with Wang last month in Germany after the United States shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon over its east coast on February 4.

    Lavrov intends to use his G20 attendance to lambast Western countries over the conflict, according to a Russian foreign ministry statement.

    Western nations want to “take revenge for the inevitable disappearance of the levers of dominance from its hands”, the ministry said Tuesday.

    “The destructive policy of the US and its allies has already put the world on the brink of a disaster,” it added.

    Hosting the G20 puts India in a tricky position, because while it shares Western concerns about China, it is also a major buyer of Russian arms and has ramped up Russian oil imports.

    A meeting of G20 finance ministers in Bengaluru last week failed to agree on a common statement after Russia and China sought to water down language on the war.

    While India has not condemned the Ukraine invasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Putin last year that this was “not a time for war” in comments seen as a rebuke to Moscow.

    Modi said Thursday that he was confident the meeting would “rise above differences” between its attendees.

    NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Thursday for the G20 to bridge differences over Ukraine, telling the opening of a meeting in New Delhi that global governance has “failed”.

    “The experience of the last few years -– financial crisis, climate change, pandemic, terrorism and wars — clearly shows that global governance has failed,” Modi said in a recorded statement opening the meeting of G20 foreign ministers.

    “We are meeting at a time of deep global divisions… We all have our positions and our perspectives on how these tensions (can) be resolved. However, as the leading economies of the world, we also have a responsibility for those who are not in this room,” Modi said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2′); });

    India had wanted its G20 presidency this year to focus on issues such as alleviating poverty and climate finance, but the Ukraine war has so far crowded out other agenda items.

    The gathering will see US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in the same room for the first time since July, but the two men are unlikely to hold talks.

    Western delegates fear China is considering supplying arms to its Russian ally and they will use the foreign ministers’ summit to discourage Beijing from intervening in the conflict.

    India’s longstanding security ties with Russia have put the host of Thursday’s meeting in an awkward diplomatic position after refusing to condemn the invasion over the past year.

    Addressing the Opening Segment of G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting. @g20org https://t.co/s73ypWruBf
    — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 2, 2023
    But EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he was confident India would use the meeting to “make Russia understand that this war has to finish”.

    “Certainly the success of the meeting today will be measured in respect to what we will be able to do on that,” he told reporters Wednesday.

    Borrell will meet on the sidelines of the New Delhi summit with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, where he will seek assurances that Beijing will not lend support to Russia’s war effort.

    “Until now, the answer has been clearly stated by China, ‘it hasn’t happened and it won’t happen,’ but we have to remain vigilant,” said a senior EU official with knowledge of the matter.

    Chinese state news agency Xinhua last week quoted top diplomat Wang Yi as saying Beijing was willing to “strengthen strategic coordination” with Russia after meeting Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

    ‘Zero evidence’

    Blinken said he had no plans to meet with either the Russian or Chinese foreign ministers at the G20 summit.

    The last time Blinken and Lavrov were in the same room, at a G20 meeting in Bali last July, the latter stormed out according to Western officials.

    “If Russia — President Putin — were genuinely prepared to engage in meaningful diplomacy necessary to end the aggression, of course we’d be the first to work to engage, but there’s zero evidence of that,” Blinken said.

    Blinken had a fiery encounter with Wang last month in Germany after the United States shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon over its east coast on February 4.

    Lavrov intends to use his G20 attendance to lambast Western countries over the conflict, according to a Russian foreign ministry statement.

    Western nations want to “take revenge for the inevitable disappearance of the levers of dominance from its hands”, the ministry said Tuesday.

    “The destructive policy of the US and its allies has already put the world on the brink of a disaster,” it added.

    Hosting the G20 puts India in a tricky position, because while it shares Western concerns about China, it is also a major buyer of Russian arms and has ramped up Russian oil imports.

    A meeting of G20 finance ministers in Bengaluru last week failed to agree on a common statement after Russia and China sought to water down language on the war.

    While India has not condemned the Ukraine invasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Putin last year that this was “not a time for war” in comments seen as a rebuke to Moscow.

    Modi said Thursday that he was confident the meeting would “rise above differences” between its attendees.

  • Russia-Ukraine conflict will be discussed in G20 foreign ministers’ meet: FS Kwatra

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra on Wednesday refused to speculate on whether the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting would be able to come out with a joint communique in the backdrop of widening differences between the West and Russia on the Ukraine conflict.

    The two-day G20 foreign ministers meeting begins this evening and the main discussions will take place on Thursday. “It would not be correct to prejudge the outcome of the meeting,” Kwatra said at a press conference.

    Given the developing situation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, it is expected it will be a point of discussion at the meeting, he said.

    He also said that the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on economic and development cooperation is an important issue for us.

    The meeting, he said, will deliberate on multilateralism, food and energy security, development cooperation and counter-terrorism.

    It will be one of the largest gatherings of foreign ministers to be hosted by any G20 presidency, Kwatra said.

    He said around 40 delegations, including 13 from international organisations, are expected to participate in the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting.

    US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, France’s Catherine Colonna, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, Germany’s Annalena Baerbock and British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly are among those attending the India-hosted meeting.

    A number of foreign ministers of non-G20 countries, including that of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, are also attending the meeting following India’s invitation as guests.

    The foreign ministers are also likely to discuss ways to deal with falling economic growth, increasing inflation, lower demands for goods and services as well as increasing prices of food, fuel and fertilisers.

    However, the major flashpoint between the West and Russia-China combined is expected to be on the Ukraine conflict even as India is set to make all-out efforts to bring out a joint statement following the crucial meeting.

    Russia on Sunday alleged that the G20 finance ministers’ meeting in Bengaluru ended without a joint communique because of the “confrontational” approach towards Moscow by the “collective West” over the situation in Ukraine.

    The G20 meeting of finance ministers and Central Bank governors on Saturday was unable to come out with a joint communique following opposition by Russia and China on making any references to the war in Ukraine.

    NEW DELHI: Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra on Wednesday refused to speculate on whether the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting would be able to come out with a joint communique in the backdrop of widening differences between the West and Russia on the Ukraine conflict.

    The two-day G20 foreign ministers meeting begins this evening and the main discussions will take place on Thursday. “It would not be correct to prejudge the outcome of the meeting,” Kwatra said at a press conference.

    Given the developing situation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, it is expected it will be a point of discussion at the meeting, he said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2′); });

    He also said that the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on economic and development cooperation is an important issue for us.

    The meeting, he said, will deliberate on multilateralism, food and energy security, development cooperation and counter-terrorism.

    It will be one of the largest gatherings of foreign ministers to be hosted by any G20 presidency, Kwatra said.

    He said around 40 delegations, including 13 from international organisations, are expected to participate in the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting.

    US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, France’s Catherine Colonna, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, Germany’s Annalena Baerbock and British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly are among those attending the India-hosted meeting.

    A number of foreign ministers of non-G20 countries, including that of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, are also attending the meeting following India’s invitation as guests.

    The foreign ministers are also likely to discuss ways to deal with falling economic growth, increasing inflation, lower demands for goods and services as well as increasing prices of food, fuel and fertilisers.

    However, the major flashpoint between the West and Russia-China combined is expected to be on the Ukraine conflict even as India is set to make all-out efforts to bring out a joint statement following the crucial meeting.

    Russia on Sunday alleged that the G20 finance ministers’ meeting in Bengaluru ended without a joint communique because of the “confrontational” approach towards Moscow by the “collective West” over the situation in Ukraine.

    The G20 meeting of finance ministers and Central Bank governors on Saturday was unable to come out with a joint communique following opposition by Russia and China on making any references to the war in Ukraine.

  • G-20 meeting in India ends without consensus on Ukraine war

    By Associated Press

    BENGALURU: A meeting of finance chiefs of the Group of 20 leading economies ended on Saturday without a consensus, with Russia and China objecting to the description of the war in Ukraine in a final document.

    The meeting hosted by India issued the G-20 Chair’s summary and an outcome document stating that there was no agreement on the wording of the war in Ukraine. The first day of the meeting took place on the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

    The Group of Seven major industrial nations announced new sanctions against Russia on Friday, just as the talks of the G-20 group wrapped up in confusion in the Indian technology hub of Bengaluru.

    US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen condemned the “illegal and unjustified war against Ukraine” at a session attended by Russian officials and reiterated calls for G-20 nations to do more to support Ukraine and hinder Moscow’s war effort.

    ALSO READ | China seeks to water down G20 statement on Ukraine: Sources

    At the last major G-20 meeting, in Bali, Indonesia, in November, leaders had strongly condemned the war, warning that the conflict was intensifying fragilities in the world’s economy. The group includes Russia and also countries like China and India that have significant trade with Moscow.

    India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters that the communique prepared for the Bengaluru meeting carried two paragraphs from the Bali declaration, but Russia and China demanded they be deleted and said they could not be part of the final document this time.

    Their contention was they had approved the Bali declaration under the then prevailing circumstances, she said. “Now they didn’t want it,” Sitharaman said. She didn’t give any other details.

    The Bali declaration said that “most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed that it is causing immense human suffering and exacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy – constraining growth, increasing inflation, disrupting supply chains, heightening energy and food insecurity, and elevating financial stability risks.”

    ALSO READ | India’s G20 Presidency comes at ‘incredibly important time’: UK Foreign Secretary Cleverly

    The declaration also said: “There were other views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions. G-20 is not the forum to resolve security issues, we acknowledge that security issues can have significant consequences for the global economy.”

    The second paragraph of the declaration, which is now unacceptable to Russia and China, said, “It is essential to uphold international law and the multilateral system that safeguards peace and stability. … The use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible. The peaceful resolution of conflicts, efforts to address crises, as well as diplomacy and dialogue, are vital. Today’s era must not be of war.”

    Sitharaman said the meeting could not issue a communique because of the objections raised by Russia and China and decided to opt for a summary and an outcome document.

    BENGALURU: A meeting of finance chiefs of the Group of 20 leading economies ended on Saturday without a consensus, with Russia and China objecting to the description of the war in Ukraine in a final document.

    The meeting hosted by India issued the G-20 Chair’s summary and an outcome document stating that there was no agreement on the wording of the war in Ukraine. The first day of the meeting took place on the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

    The Group of Seven major industrial nations announced new sanctions against Russia on Friday, just as the talks of the G-20 group wrapped up in confusion in the Indian technology hub of Bengaluru.

    US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen condemned the “illegal and unjustified war against Ukraine” at a session attended by Russian officials and reiterated calls for G-20 nations to do more to support Ukraine and hinder Moscow’s war effort.

    ALSO READ | China seeks to water down G20 statement on Ukraine: Sources

    At the last major G-20 meeting, in Bali, Indonesia, in November, leaders had strongly condemned the war, warning that the conflict was intensifying fragilities in the world’s economy. The group includes Russia and also countries like China and India that have significant trade with Moscow.

    India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters that the communique prepared for the Bengaluru meeting carried two paragraphs from the Bali declaration, but Russia and China demanded they be deleted and said they could not be part of the final document this time.

    Their contention was they had approved the Bali declaration under the then prevailing circumstances, she said. “Now they didn’t want it,” Sitharaman said. She didn’t give any other details.

    The Bali declaration said that “most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed that it is causing immense human suffering and exacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy – constraining growth, increasing inflation, disrupting supply chains, heightening energy and food insecurity, and elevating financial stability risks.”

    ALSO READ | India’s G20 Presidency comes at ‘incredibly important time’: UK Foreign Secretary Cleverly

    The declaration also said: “There were other views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions. G-20 is not the forum to resolve security issues, we acknowledge that security issues can have significant consequences for the global economy.”

    The second paragraph of the declaration, which is now unacceptable to Russia and China, said, “It is essential to uphold international law and the multilateral system that safeguards peace and stability. … The use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible. The peaceful resolution of conflicts, efforts to address crises, as well as diplomacy and dialogue, are vital. Today’s era must not be of war.”

    Sitharaman said the meeting could not issue a communique because of the objections raised by Russia and China and decided to opt for a summary and an outcome document.

  • Russian officials allege being rebuked at G20 Finance Ministers meet in Bengaluru

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: Russian officials have alleged that they were rebuked during a session in Bengaluru during the just concluded G20 Finance Ministers meet.

    “We know who you are, where you live and where to find you and we won’t forget you are personally responsible for the conflict in Ukraine,” is what the Russian officials have alleged was told to them during one of the sessions during the meet. They allege that those who said it was from  Germany and Canada.

    German officials have denied saying anything to that effect, while no response could be received from the Canadian side.

    “When the West talks of peace, they should be a little more responsible in the way they speak with others. This way of speaking, which sounds like a threat, in such a high-profile event isn’t what we or anyone expected,” according to Russian officials.

    No such incidents were reported in the earlier events that India has been hosting under its G20 Presidency. The next upcoming event that is going to be high-profile is the G20 Foreign Ministers meet that will take place in Delhi on March 1st and 2nd. Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov is expected to attend this event and so is the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken.

    Meanwhile, earlier on Friday, Blinken in an interview with the Atlantic had said that India among other nations has the influence to directly engage with Russia and added that he urged New Delhi along with China to persuade Moscow against using tactical nuclear weapons.

    “There was language coming out of Moscow that suggested that he would look to the use of tactical nuclear weapons. But we urged, I think successfully, that other countries might have a little bit more influence with Russia – like India and China – to engage him directly about their absolute opposition to any use of nuclear weapons,” said Blinken.

    Blinken also said that India was on a trajectory away from alignment with Russia and moving into partnership with the US and other countries.

    NEW DELHI: Russian officials have alleged that they were rebuked during a session in Bengaluru during the just concluded G20 Finance Ministers meet.

    “We know who you are, where you live and where to find you and we won’t forget you are personally responsible for the conflict in Ukraine,” is what the Russian officials have alleged was told to them during one of the sessions during the meet. They allege that those who said it was from  Germany and Canada.

    German officials have denied saying anything to that effect, while no response could be received from the Canadian side.

    “When the West talks of peace, they should be a little more responsible in the way they speak with others. This way of speaking, which sounds like a threat, in such a high-profile event isn’t what we or anyone expected,” according to Russian officials.

    No such incidents were reported in the earlier events that India has been hosting under its G20 Presidency. The next upcoming event that is going to be high-profile is the G20 Foreign Ministers meet that will take place in Delhi on March 1st and 2nd. Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov is expected to attend this event and so is the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken.

    Meanwhile, earlier on Friday, Blinken in an interview with the Atlantic had said that India among other nations has the influence to directly engage with Russia and added that he urged New Delhi along with China to persuade Moscow against using tactical nuclear weapons.

    “There was language coming out of Moscow that suggested that he would look to the use of tactical nuclear weapons. But we urged, I think successfully, that other countries might have a little bit more influence with Russia – like India and China – to engage him directly about their absolute opposition to any use of nuclear weapons,” said Blinken.

    Blinken also said that India was on a trajectory away from alignment with Russia and moving into partnership with the US and other countries.

  • Nothing short of heartbreaking: John Krasinski on parallels between ‘Jack Ryan’ S3 and Ukraine war

    By PTI

    SYDNEY: There was no way to anticipate something as horrific as the situation in Ukraine, says John Krasinski who terms the unintended parallels between the new season of his spy series “Jack Ryan” and the reality of the war-torn country heartbreaking.

    Krasinski wanted the story of the third season to be “unimaginable” and “larger than life”.

    As it so happens, the storyline has real life counterpart to events unfolding in Ukraine, engaged in a bloody war with Russia with talk of a nuclear strike causing panic among its citizens every once in a while.

    “There’s no way to anticipate something so horrific, including the pandemic. It’s been about three years since we had this idea for season three. We really knew that it would be such a long time between season two and three that we wanted to come up with something that we thought was larger than life and unimaginable to audiences,” Krasinski told PTI in an interview.

    “To now realise that it’s actually happening is nothing short of heartbreaking for all of us involved,” the actor added.

    The third season of the hit series shows fictional spy Ryan go up against a rogue group of Russian activists planning to detonate a nuclear strike and bring about an unprecedented global conflict.

    There is no way the team could have anticipated the correlation between what’s happening in Ukraine and the story of the third season, Krasinski said.

    “If there’s anything that comes from the correlations, which of course we didn’t anticipate and (the production) happened so long ago, it’s to keep the people of the Ukraine in our minds and make sure that it stays current in our minds and that the story continues to be told,” the 43-year-old said.

    Co-star Michael Kelly agreed. “It is not a new phenomenon to have a story foreshadow a real life situation, he said, adding that it happened with “House of Cards”. It happened to us on ‘House of Cards’ all the time as well,” said the actor, referring to the show set in the White House.”

    Kelly, who played a pivotal role in the Netflix show, stars as Mike November in “Jack Ryan”.

    “The writers always come up with something. They brainstorm, write the story for nine months, and you shoot it for another six months. So you’re talking about a year and a half later. And in this case it was three years,” Kelly told PTI.

    In his view, “Jack Ryan” season three is not about a good vs bad fight between the US and Russia.

    “It’s not that Russia is the bad guy and we’re the good guys. It’s a faction within Russia that we look at this season. So while it’s horrific what’s happening in real life, no way could we have predicted it,” he added.

    Krasinski, best known for playing Jim Halpert in the long-running sitcom “The Office”, also wrote wrote, directed and acted in “A Quiet Place” franchise.

    His wife, Hollywood star Emily Blunt, also acted in the series.

    The actor, whose film credits include the films “License to Wed”, “Leatherheads” and “It’s Complicated”, has been the face of “Jack Ryan” since its inception in 2018.

    The Prime Video original has been adapted from author Tom Clancy’s novels of the same title.

    Krasinski plays the titular character who goes on from being a CIA analyst to a full-fledged spy.

    The first season, which debuted on Prime Video in 2018, tackled the rise of an Islamic extremist while its sophomore chapter, released in 2019, placed Ryan in the middle of political turmoil in Venezuela.

    There have been several “Jack Ryan” films as well.

    Krasinski is the fifth actor to portray the character, after Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck and Chris Pine.

    “Jack Ryan” season three, consisting of eight episodes, also features Wendell Pierce, Nina Hoss and Betty Gabriel.

    Co-produced by Amazon Studios, Paramount Television Studios and Skydance Television, the third season will drop on Prime Video on Wednesday.

    SYDNEY: There was no way to anticipate something as horrific as the situation in Ukraine, says John Krasinski who terms the unintended parallels between the new season of his spy series “Jack Ryan” and the reality of the war-torn country heartbreaking.

    Krasinski wanted the story of the third season to be “unimaginable” and “larger than life”.

    As it so happens, the storyline has real life counterpart to events unfolding in Ukraine, engaged in a bloody war with Russia with talk of a nuclear strike causing panic among its citizens every once in a while.

    “There’s no way to anticipate something so horrific, including the pandemic. It’s been about three years since we had this idea for season three. We really knew that it would be such a long time between season two and three that we wanted to come up with something that we thought was larger than life and unimaginable to audiences,” Krasinski told PTI in an interview.

    “To now realise that it’s actually happening is nothing short of heartbreaking for all of us involved,” the actor added.

    The third season of the hit series shows fictional spy Ryan go up against a rogue group of Russian activists planning to detonate a nuclear strike and bring about an unprecedented global conflict.

    There is no way the team could have anticipated the correlation between what’s happening in Ukraine and the story of the third season, Krasinski said.

    “If there’s anything that comes from the correlations, which of course we didn’t anticipate and (the production) happened so long ago, it’s to keep the people of the Ukraine in our minds and make sure that it stays current in our minds and that the story continues to be told,” the 43-year-old said.

    Co-star Michael Kelly agreed. “It is not a new phenomenon to have a story foreshadow a real life situation, he said, adding that it happened with “House of Cards”. It happened to us on ‘House of Cards’ all the time as well,” said the actor, referring to the show set in the White House.”

    Kelly, who played a pivotal role in the Netflix show, stars as Mike November in “Jack Ryan”.

    “The writers always come up with something. They brainstorm, write the story for nine months, and you shoot it for another six months. So you’re talking about a year and a half later. And in this case it was three years,” Kelly told PTI.

    In his view, “Jack Ryan” season three is not about a good vs bad fight between the US and Russia.

    “It’s not that Russia is the bad guy and we’re the good guys. It’s a faction within Russia that we look at this season. So while it’s horrific what’s happening in real life, no way could we have predicted it,” he added.

    Krasinski, best known for playing Jim Halpert in the long-running sitcom “The Office”, also wrote wrote, directed and acted in “A Quiet Place” franchise.

    His wife, Hollywood star Emily Blunt, also acted in the series.

    The actor, whose film credits include the films “License to Wed”, “Leatherheads” and “It’s Complicated”, has been the face of “Jack Ryan” since its inception in 2018.

    The Prime Video original has been adapted from author Tom Clancy’s novels of the same title.

    Krasinski plays the titular character who goes on from being a CIA analyst to a full-fledged spy.

    The first season, which debuted on Prime Video in 2018, tackled the rise of an Islamic extremist while its sophomore chapter, released in 2019, placed Ryan in the middle of political turmoil in Venezuela.

    There have been several “Jack Ryan” films as well.

    Krasinski is the fifth actor to portray the character, after Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck and Chris Pine.

    “Jack Ryan” season three, consisting of eight episodes, also features Wendell Pierce, Nina Hoss and Betty Gabriel.

    Co-produced by Amazon Studios, Paramount Television Studios and Skydance Television, the third season will drop on Prime Video on Wednesday.

  • ‘No one has told us not to buy oil from Russia’: Hardeep Singh Puri

    By PTI

    WASHINGTON: The Indian government has a moral duty to provide energy to its citizens and it will continue to buy oil from wherever it has to, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said on Friday, asserting that no country has told India to stop buying oil from Russia.

    The Russia-Ukraine war has had a far-reaching impact on the global energy system, disrupting supply and demand patterns and fracturing long-standing trading relationships.

    It has pushed up energy prices for many consumers and businesses around the world, hurting households, industries and entire economies of several nations.

    India’s crude oil imports from Russia have jumped over 50 times since April and now it makes up for 10 per cent of all crude bought from overseas.

    Russian oil made up for just 0.2 per cent of all oil imported by India prior to the Ukraine war.

    The Western countries are gradually bringing down their energy purchases from Russia following its attack on Ukraine.

    ALSO READ | Spike in oil price is breaking India’s back: S Jaishankar

    “India will buy oil from wherever it has to for the simple reason that this kind of a discussion cannot be taken to the consuming population of India,” Puri told a group of Indian reporters here, adding that the government has a moral duty to provide energy to its people.

    Responding to a question, he said India has not been told by anyone to stop buying oil from Russia.

    “If you are clear about your policy, which means you believe in energy security and energy affordability, you will buy from wherever you have to purchase energy from sources,” Puri said after his bilateral meeting with US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

    During his meeting, Puri “broached the idea” of India-US Green Corridor, which elicited a positive response from his US counterpart.

    “The turbulence in the energy markets, and I’m using the word turbulence support carefully, will not allow India’s resolve to transition to green clean and sustainable energy,” he said.

    The two countries would now look into broader contours of this ambitious Green Energy Corridor.

    India’s import from the US is shooting up and currently buying USD20 billion worth of energy from the United States.

    There are discussions on buying more from the United States, he said.

    While work on green energy would continue, traditional exploration and production of oil and gas would continue as well, he noted.

    The world is also in progress on green hydrogen. India and the US have an advantage which at present is not being realised, he added.

    WASHINGTON: The Indian government has a moral duty to provide energy to its citizens and it will continue to buy oil from wherever it has to, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said on Friday, asserting that no country has told India to stop buying oil from Russia.

    The Russia-Ukraine war has had a far-reaching impact on the global energy system, disrupting supply and demand patterns and fracturing long-standing trading relationships.

    It has pushed up energy prices for many consumers and businesses around the world, hurting households, industries and entire economies of several nations.

    India’s crude oil imports from Russia have jumped over 50 times since April and now it makes up for 10 per cent of all crude bought from overseas.

    Russian oil made up for just 0.2 per cent of all oil imported by India prior to the Ukraine war.

    The Western countries are gradually bringing down their energy purchases from Russia following its attack on Ukraine.

    ALSO READ | Spike in oil price is breaking India’s back: S Jaishankar

    “India will buy oil from wherever it has to for the simple reason that this kind of a discussion cannot be taken to the consuming population of India,” Puri told a group of Indian reporters here, adding that the government has a moral duty to provide energy to its people.

    Responding to a question, he said India has not been told by anyone to stop buying oil from Russia.

    “If you are clear about your policy, which means you believe in energy security and energy affordability, you will buy from wherever you have to purchase energy from sources,” Puri said after his bilateral meeting with US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

    During his meeting, Puri “broached the idea” of India-US Green Corridor, which elicited a positive response from his US counterpart.

    “The turbulence in the energy markets, and I’m using the word turbulence support carefully, will not allow India’s resolve to transition to green clean and sustainable energy,” he said.

    The two countries would now look into broader contours of this ambitious Green Energy Corridor.

    India’s import from the US is shooting up and currently buying USD20 billion worth of energy from the United States.

    There are discussions on buying more from the United States, he said.

    While work on green energy would continue, traditional exploration and production of oil and gas would continue as well, he noted.

    The world is also in progress on green hydrogen. India and the US have an advantage which at present is not being realised, he added.

  • Diary of 12-year-old Ukrainian girl penning her journey from war-torn Kharkiv to Dublin to be released

    By PTI

    LONDON: Bloomsbury on Thursday announced that it will publish a moving diary of a 12-year-old Ukrainian girl, charting her journey with her grandmother from war-torn Kharkiv to eventual safety in Dublin.

    “You Don’t Know What War Is: The Diary of a Young Girl From Ukraine” is scheduled to hit bookstores in October.

    On February 24, Yeva Skalietska was woken by the sound of explosions. She grew up living with her granny in Kharkiv, near the Russian border. Though there have been rumblings and rumours, few truly believed that war will break out between Russia and Ukraine. And yet it had.

    What follows are 12 days in Ukraine that change Yeva’s life forever. She and her grandmother rush to take shelter from the missile attacks in a dusty, crowded basement. When the situation worsens, they need to find somewhere safer to stay, so they make their way to a friend’s house in a different area of the city.

    Coming this October: a powerful true story of the war in Ukraine through the eyes of a twelve-year-old girl. This is the gripping, urgent and moving diary of 12-year-old Ukranian refugee Yeva Skalietska as featured on @Channel4News#YouDontKnowWhatWarIs

  • India must play proactive diplomatic role in Russia-Ukraine conflict: Ex-NSA

    By Express News Service

    BENGALURU: Former Deputy National Security Advisor and Director of Vivekananda Foundation Dr Arvind Gupta on Wednesday said India should play a more proactive diplomatic role in resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which is having a global impact.

    “I do not know what is the thinking in the government right now, but I would think this is the time to play a more proactive diplomatic role in resolving this conflict which is impacting the whole world,” he said while speaking at an interaction at Synergia Foundation, a strategic think-tank in Bengaluru.

    India should be active in multilateral forums, at the United Nations, in regional forums and speak about it, he said, while appreciating Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar for talking about human rights issues.Dr Gupta said India’s foreign policy was put to test and it has emerged with fairly good grades despite pressure from the US and Russia.

    “We have stuck to our national interest. We were able to maintain contact with all the sides at the highest levels… managed to evacuate over 20,000 students and also withstand pressures despite all kinds of statements and commentaries. It shows that a foreign policy based on an all-round, deep and meaningful engagement and the Prime Minister leading from the front had a positive impact,” he added.

    As the new balance of power emerges, India should not be a bystander, but must articulate its position on various issues, not necessarily by naming Russia, but by outlining its concerns on various issues and taking other countries along with it, he said. Dr Gupta said India should focus a lot on its neighbourhood and also on capacity-building as foreign policy is as good as the country’s capacities which includes economic and other capacities, too. 

  • Russia-Ukraine conflict first true instance of hybrid warfare, has a lot of lessons: IAF Chief

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The world is witnessing the first instance of ‘hybrid warfare’ in the real sense, which has a lot of lessons for India, said Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal (ACM) VR Chaudhari on Tuesday.

    “This is the first time we are witnessing the unfolding of truly hybrid warfare. The ongoing (Russia-Ukraine) conflict is a reflection of complete multi-domain operations that are taking place,” he said.

    “We are witnessing the use of drones, hypersonic weapons, aircraft of all sizes and types and ground forces all working in unison against the backdrop of economic sanctions and diplomatic heft,” the Air Chief added while delivering the keynote address at the All India Management Association’s National Leadership Conclave on “The Future of Air Warfare: Securing the Skies and Beyond”.

    “Future warfare is likely to be hybrid in nature and the spectrum of conflict will be spread across all domains spanning from conventional to sub-conventional, kinetic to non-kinetic and lethal to non-lethal, all under a nuclear overhang,” he said.

    All this leads to “a need for us to develop capabilities across the full spectrum of conflict and focus on multi-domain operations. Similarly, our doctrines, equipment, training and tactics will have to be flexible and able to adapt rapidly to these new challenges.”

    So, there is a lot to learn from this, the Air Chief pointed out. “Primarily what it amounts to is to be able to re-imagine, to reinvent, to be able to rededicate and retrain ourselves for future conflicts,” said the Air Chief.

    “Traditionally, wars have been fought on land, at sea, in the air and to some extent, in space. In the past two decades, this spectrum has increased to encompass cyber and information domains,” he noted.

    The first four domains are classically physical and the other two are virtual. The overarching effect of cyber and information on the conduct of conventional wars has created a new, hybrid and multi domain spectrum of conflict resulting in older tactics and strategies becoming passé.  “Therefore, there is a definite imperative to reimagine, reform, redesign and rebuild our traditional war fighting machinery and adapt to this new emerging paradigm,” he said.

    As we become more and more interconnected, a cyber-attack on our networks can cripple command and control structures, he said, noting that in the next war, the enemy might not be a country or an organisation. “We may never know the perpetrators of a Distributed Denial of Services attack and we will not know when and from where the attack will take place. In the future, we could be attacked on all fronts, ranging from economic strangulation to diplomatic isolation and military standoffs to information black outs in the form of attacks by Distributed Denial of Services. All this will happen well before the first bullet is fired or the first aircraft goes across the border,” he said.  

    “Conflicts in the last few decades have clearly established without doubt, the pre-eminence of air power as the instrument of choice for almost all operational contingencies,” underlined Chaudhari.

    The tactical advantage that ‘high ground’ offers is a must-achieve criteria even today. In this aspect, air power provides that high ground and ability to bypass the fielded forces to hit targets in great depths with speed and precision, he said.

    Underlining the imperative of indigenisation, he said, “We are hugely cognizant of the fact that no nation can be truly sovereign without meeting its basic needs from indigenous sources,” adding that this applies greatly to the defence needs.

    “We need to focus more on research and development with an aim to manufacture on our own rather than relying on minor indigenisation of foreign products,” the Air Chief said.