Indian government did not say that it wants to send Indian soldiers to fight in Ukraine - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 1, 2022
Amidst the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis, a video through a post is being widely shared on social media claiming that the Modi government is going to send Indian soldiers to fight in Ukraine. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video confirming that Modi government is going to send Indian soldiers to fight in Ukraine.
Fact: Nothing was mentioned in the video about India sending its soldiers to fight in Ukraine. Amidst the Russia-Ukraine crisis, India has mostly remained neutral, and it has been in favour of diplomatic dialogue as the only way forward. PM Modi had called in Indian Air Force to help evacuate Indian nationals in Ukraine as part of Operation Ganga. But nowhere was it said that Modi government is going to send Indian soldiers to fight in Ukraine. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When reverse image search is done on the screenshots of the video, the same video was found in the official YouTube channel of Gnews. Though the title of the YouTube video suggests that India will send troops to Ukraine, nothing of that sort was mentioned in the video. Nothing was mentioned in the video saying that India will send its soldiers to fight in Ukraine. It looks like a click-bait intended to attract views to the video.
Amidst the Russia-Ukraine crisis, India has mostly remained neutral. India has maintained the best of relations with the countries concerned and it has been in favour of diplomatic dialogue as the only way forward. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin immediately after Russia’s military operations in Ukraine and appealed for an ‘immediate cessation of Violence’. At the request of Ukraine’s Ambassador, India is sending humanitarian assistance, relief supplies to the people of Ukraine; but it was never said that Indian soldiers would be sent to fight in Ukraine.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, India’s primary concern is the security of its citizens and their safe evacuation out of Ukraine. Hence, the Indian government had launched Operation Ganga to bring back Indians stranded in Ukraine. To fast-track these rescue operations, PM Modi had called in Indian Air Force to help evacuate Indian nationals. But nowhere was it said that Indian soldiers would be fighting in Ukraine.
To sum it up, the Indian government did not say that it wants to send Indian soldiers to fight in Ukraine.