NEW DELHI: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has voiced strong support for US tariffs on countries maintaining trade and strategic relations with Russia, specifically naming India, despite New Delhi’s recent diplomatic push for an end to the conflict in Ukraine.
In an interview with ABC News, Zelenskyy said: “I think the idea to put tariffs on the country... continuing to make deals with Russia is the right idea.”
His comments come amid a renewed push by the Trump administration to expand sanctions against Moscow following a high-voltage but inconclusive summit between Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last month.
Zelenskyy’s remarks were in response to questions about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s participation in a recent Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in China, where Modi was seen alongside the leaders of Russia and China.
While India has publicly reiterated its call for peace in the region, Kyiv appears increasingly frustrated by New Delhi’s continued energy and defense ties with Moscow.
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett underscored that frustration, singling out India in the context of upcoming sanctions.
“At the National Economic Council, we are responsible for making sure that sanctions get enforced and that people who are helping Russia with their war against Ukraine... for example, what India has been doing by buying Russian oil... that we’re ready to respond to them economically,” Hassett said on Sunday.
“There’s going to be a lot of talk today and tomorrow about the level of sanctions and the timing of sanctions,” he added, suggesting new economic measures could be imminent.
Despite mounting pressure from the West, India has redoubled efforts to broker peace.
Modi spoke to Zelenskyy twice last month, reaffirming India’s commitment to a diplomatic solution.
“I conveyed India’s consistent position on the need for an early and peaceful resolution of the conflict,” Modi posted, adding that India is committed to making “every possible contribution” to end the war and strengthen bilateral ties with Ukraine.
Modi also recently held discussions with key European leaders including Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa, and French President Emmanuel Macron regarding the ongoing war.
India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar echoed those sentiments, in a call with his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha that India “supports an early end to this conflict and the establishment of an enduring peace.” Yet, Zelenskyy remains skeptical of recent US--Russia diplomacy.
Speaking about the Trump-Putin summit, Zelensky remarked, “It's a pity that Ukraine was not there, because I think that President Trump gave Putin what he wanted.”
He added that while Putin seeks to project influence by meeting U.S. presidents, “he doesn’t want to meet with me.”
As tensions rise between Kyiv and New Delhi, Zelenskyy’s remarks underscore Ukraine’s increasingly hard line on global neutrality toward Russia, even at the risk of alienating key international partners.
