Fury as Indian PM 'welcomed' in Moscow hours from horrific Kyiv strike

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi (pictured left) has hailed his 'memorable welcome' in Moscow just hours after a Russian missile strike on a children's hospital in Ukraine. Modi is in Russia for a two-day visit - his first since Russia invaded Ukraine - and was pictured hugging and laughing with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Monday.

The state visit comes on the same day as Putin's forces killed at least 36 civilians in a strike on the main children's hospital in Kyiv. Parents holding babies walked in the street outside the hospital, dazed and sobbing after the rare daylight aerial attack. Windows had been smashed and panels ripped off, and hundreds of Kyiv residents were helping to clear debris. 

When Modi shared footage of the first day of his visit on social media, he captioned the post: 'A memorable welcome in Moscow.' His visit and lack of response to the hospital strike caused outrage on social media. It is actually quite an embarrassment for Indian PM Modi to celebrate Putin in Moscow just after he has bombed the main children's hospital in Kyiv. Are these Modi's "values"?,' Russia expert and economist Anders Aslund wrote on X.

Michael McFaul, US Ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014, added: 'I wonder if Mr Modi will raise concerns about the children's hospital in Ukraine that Putin just bombed?' Pictures distributed by officials from the children's medical facility showed people digging through mounds of debris, black smoke billowing over a gutted building and medical staff wearing blood-stained scrubs.

Children - some still hooked up to medical machines - were pictured outside the building in hospital beds, or being held by their mothers or hospital staff. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had targeted five cities with more than 40 missiles of different types in the assault, adding that people were trapped under the rubble of the children's hospital.

The daylight attacks included Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, one of the most advanced Russian weapons, the Ukrainian air force said. The Kinzhal flies at 10 times the speed of sound, making it hard to intercept. City buildings shook from the blasts. 'There are people under the rubble, and the exact number of casualties is still unknown,' the president wrote on social media. 'Right now, everyone is helping to clear the rubble - doctors and ordinary people.' The attack struck Okhmatdyt children's hospital in Kyiv, Ukraine's biggest children's medical facility, that sits on the outskirts of the city's central district. Its significance has been likened to London's Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Modi last travelled to Russia in 2019, when he attended a forum in the far eastern port of Vladivostok and met Putin. The leaders also saw each other in September 2022 in Uzbekistan, at a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation bloc. Modi posted photos of his arrival in Moscow on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, saying in both Russian and English that he was 'looking forward to further deepening the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between our nations, especially in futuristic areas of co-operation'. 'Stronger ties between our nations will greatly benefit our people,' he wrote, also sharing a picture of himself and Putin hugging.

Later, the two leaders were pictured in videos shared by the Kremlin at Putin's residence, Novo-Ogaryovo, near Moscow. Putin drove Modi around the grounds in a buggy and showed him his stable with horses. According to state news agencies, the two had earlier watched a horse show with performers in national Russian dress. Modi thanked Putin for hosting him at Novo-Ogaryovo and said he was looking forward to Tuesday's talks, which he hoped will 'go a long way in further cementing the bonds of friendship between India and Russia'.

Russia has had strong ties with India since the Cold War, and New Delhi's importance as a key trading partner for Moscow has grown since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. China and India have become key buyers of Russian oil following sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies that shut most Western markets off to Russian exports. India now gets more than 40 per cent of its oil imports from Russia, according to analysts. Under Modi's leadership, India has avoided condemning Russia's military action in Ukraine while emphasising the need for a peaceful settlement.

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