In an intriguing comparison, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi drew parallels between the Russia-Ukraine war and China's standoff with India at the LAC. Speaking to the media at ex-Rajya Sabha MP Sharad Yadav's residence in the national capital on Friday, he asserted that China was following Russia's template to build a justification for its aggression vis-à-vis India. To buttress his point, Gandhi highlighted that the Xi Jinping regime had disputed the status of Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh akin to Russia questioning Ukraine's claim over Luhansk and Donetsk following which the war commenced.

Rahul Gandhi remarked, "The principle of Ukraine (War) is that Russia says that we don't accept the territoriality of Ukraine, we don't consider Donbass region and Luhansk as Ukraine. Russia attacked Ukraine on that basis. The aim of the attack is to break the alliance of NATO, Ukraine and the US. China is applying the same principle in India. Just as Russia said there that Luhansk and Donetsk is not yours, China is saying that Ladakh and Arunachal is not yours. And it has stationed its troops there."

Accusing the Centre of ignoring this possibility, the Wayanad MP added, "But the model is there. That model can be applied here. But the government is not accepting the reality. And I am telling the government to accept the reality. If you don't accept the reality and don't prepare, you won't be able to react when the situation turns worse."

Russia-Ukraine War

The tensions between Russia and Ukraine escalated on February 21 after Vladimir Putin recognised the independence of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic. Located in eastern Ukraine, these regions have been under the control of Russia-backed separatists since 2014. The situation took a turn for the worse after the Russian President formally declared a military operation in Ukraine three days later targeted at the "demilitarisation and denazification" of the country. While the US and other European countries have imposed a range of sanctions on Russia, the latter has refused to relent.

While several rounds of talks have been held to ensure a ceasefire, the situation worsened after Ukraine accused the Russian forces of killing nearly 300 civilians during their occupation of Bucha, which lies 37 km northwest of the Kyiv city centre. Speaking exclusively to Republic Media Network's Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami on Thursday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed willingness to talk to his Russian counterpart despite the Bucha massacre in an endeavour to end the war. He also urged India to become a security guarantor for Ukraine.