Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India arrived in Moscow on Monday to meet with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, a visit that signals the Indian leader’s determination to stick to his own diplomatic path even as the West continues to isolate Moscow over its war on Ukraine.

       For Mr. Putin, Mr. Modi’s visit will be a way for Russia to show that the Kremlin continues to have a strong partnership with India, despite India’s deepening relationship with the United States. India’s purchases of discounted Russian petroleum have helped fill Russia’s coffers depleted by international sanctions over the war, and Russia has sought to cast India as a partner in reshaping the Western-dominated global order.

       This is the first visit to Russia by Mr. Modi in five years. He arrived to a red-carpet welcome at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow, where he was met by a Russian military band, as well the first deputy prime minister, Denis V. Manturov.

       In a message posted on the social platform X after his arrival, Mr. Modi said he looked forward to deepening the “special and strategic partnership” between India and Russia, noting that stronger ties “will greatly benefit our people.”

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       Mr. Modi arrived on a day when Russia unleashed a brutal aerial bombardment against Ukraine, including a strike on that country’s largest children’s hospital, in Kyiv. The attack has drawn condemnation from the West, and could shine a harsh spotlight on India’s ties with Russia.

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       Mr. Modi and Mr. Putin on Monday. The visit is Mr. Modi’s first in five years.Credit...Sergei Bobylyov/Sputnik

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