India’s Ukrainian Hedge

For decades, Russia and India have presented their relationship as one of the most durable strategic partnerships in international politics. From Soviet support during the Cold War to contemporary defence cooperation, Moscow has consistently regarded New Delhi as a trusted partner and an important pillar of the emerging multipolar order. Yet India’s expanding defence engagement with Ukraine raises important questions about the future of this relationship and the changing nature of strategic trust.

The issue is not the existence of Indo-Ukrainian cooperation itself. Contacts between the two countries’ defence sectors predate the current conflict. What has changed is the strategic context in which that cooperation now takes place.

In April 2026, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Kyiv and New Delhi were finalizing a security cooperation arrangement. The statement followed a gradual expansion of bilateral defence contacts, including discussions on military-technical cooperation, defence-industrial collaboration, and access to technologies shaped by Ukraine’s wartime experience.

Therefore, these developments may appear routine. In the broader context of India’s foreign policy, however, they reflect what can be described as transactional multipolarity. Unlike traditional non-alignment, which sought distance from competing blocs, transactional multipolarity seeks to maximize benefits from multiple power centres while minimizing political commitments. India’s foreign policy increasingly reflects this approach: New Delhi purchases discounted Russian energy while deepening security ties with the United States, participates in BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation while strengthening partnerships with Europe and Indo-Pacific democracies, and maintains defence cooperation with Russia while expanding ties with Israel, France, and Ukraine.

The Historical Foundations of Russia-India Trust

Historically, Russia has been among India’s most reliable strategic partners. Soviet support during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War, continued cooperation following India’s 1998 nuclear tests, and decades of defence-industrial collaboration created a foundation of trust rarely seen in international politics. Russian-origin equipment continues to form a substantial part of India’s military inventory, including Su-30MKI fighters, T-90 tanks, S-400 air defence systems, and the........

© CounterPunch