New Delhi [India], August 24 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, on Sunday, extended greetings to Ukraine on the occasion of its Independence Day.

In a post on X, Jaishankar highlighted the commitment to further strengthen India-Ukraine ties.

In a post on social media platform X he wrote, 'Greetings to FM @andrii_sybiha, the Government and the people of Ukraine on the occasion of their Independence Day. Committed to further strengthening of our bilateral relationship.'

https://x.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1959464791585726655

On Saturday, the Ukrainian Embassy in New Delhi celebrated its National Flag Day with a flag-hoisting ceremony and cultural gathering.

Dressed in traditional white attire, members of the embassy hoisted the blue-and-yellow national flag and sang the Ukrainian national anthem together.

Sharing the moment on X, the embassy wrote, 'Today we proudly celebrate the Day of the National Flag of Ukraine . May it always fly high as a sign of Ukraine's unwavering spirit and commitment to peace. Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the Heroes!'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had also shared a message on National Flag Day. He wrote his X account, 'Today is an important day - a day of one of our strongest emotions: the feeling you get when you are at home, or when you recognise your own people and what comes from your homeland'

Last week, President Zelenskyy had extended greetings to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the people of India on the country's 79th Independence Day. He expressed hope that India would play an important role in global peace efforts, especially in ending the ongoing war.

Prime Minister Modi responded with warm wishes, thanking Zelenskyy for his greetings. In a post on X, he wrote, 'Thank you President Zelenskyy for your warm greetings. I deeply value the joint commitment to forging even closer ties between India and Ukraine. We earnestly wish our friends in Ukraine a future marked by peace, progress and prosperity.'

This comes amid ongoing tensions between Ukraine and Russia over the past three and a half years.

Ukraine's Ambassador to India, Oleksandr Polishchuk, on Saturday called for a more active role from India in ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict, emphasising that Kyiv sees New Delhi as a key player in potential peace negotiations due to its longstanding ties with Moscow.

Speaking to ANI on the occasion of their National Flag Day, Ambassador Polishchuk welcomed the growing dialogue between Ukraine and India since 2023 and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks, asserting that India is 'not neutral' in the war but firmly supports peace, diplomacy, and political dialogue.

He noted that the Ukrainian side hopes to continue this interaction at the upcoming UNGA session in September. (ANI)