Russia and the West are fighting to get China and India on their side

The two fought hard to persuade the powers to support their view of the conflict in Ukraine.

The foreign ministers of Russia and the United Kingdom visited India last week, holding talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a bid to deepen ties.

China, however, has taken a more neutral stance, not siding with any particular country.

Ukrainian politician Inna Sovsun said Ukraine was deeply disappointed with the response from these countries.

“I spoke to journalists in India and my understanding is that they somehow perceived that this war was between Russia and the United States,” Ms Sovsun said.

“My message to all Indians and the Indian government – no matter geopolitics, democracy must stand together,

“And Ukraine and India are democracies, not perfect but on the way to perfection.”

Ms. Sovsun said India should stand with Ukraine against authoritarian regimes.

“We cannot choose which dictatorship to cooperate with, because we should all fight for democratic values,” she said.

Meanwhile, the war in Ukraine continues and Russian troops have reportedly begun to withdraw.

But as Russia’s VE Day approaches, Sovsun says Putin is likely to exaggerate the country’s military might and its success in Ukraine to justify the conflict.

She says it’s likely that during Putin’s speech on May 6, he could claim victory in order to assert his power.

“These dates are extremely important for the neo-Nazi society there…if he is unable to claim victory, it will undermine his power,” Ms Sovsun said.

“It would show the whole population that he started a war but he can’t show any progress.”

But Ms Sovsun insisted that would not mark the end of the war.

“The Russians won’t stop there, and Ukraine, we won’t give up and cede our territories,” she said.