India hands over 12th consignment of humanitarian aid to Ukraine

MOSCOW: India on Monday handed over the 12th consignment of humanitarian aid comprising essential medicines and equipment to Ukraine as part of its ongoing effort to help the European nation to mitigate the economic hardships it is facing due to the war with Russia.

On March 1, India had sent the first tranche of humanitarian assistance comprising medicines and other relief materials to Ukraine via Poland.

Sharing a photograph of the handover, the Indian embassy in Kyiv in a tweet said Ambassador Harsh Kumar Jain handed over the "12th consignment of humanitarian aid from India meant for people of Ukraine comprising essential medicines and equipment" to Ukraine's deputy health minister Oleksii Iaremenko. India has not criticised Russia for its aggression against Ukraine.

New Delhi has repeatedly called upon the Russian and Ukrainian sides to return to the path of diplomacy and dialogue, and also expressed its support for all diplomatic efforts to end the conflict between the two countries.

During a UN Security Council meeting last month, India's Permanent Representative Ruchira Kamboj had called for prioritising urgent humanitarian relief in Ukraine, saying humanitarian action must always be guided by the principles of humanitarian assistance, i.e., humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence and these measures should never be politicised.

She said in the last six months, India has dispatched 11 consignments of approximately 97.5 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Ukraine and neighbouring countries like Romania, Moldova, Slovakia and Poland.

The Indian mission resumed its operation in Kyiv with effect from May 17. The Embassy was temporarily relocated to Warsaw (Poland) on March 13.