Russia-Ukraine war: PM Modi holds meeting of Cabinet Committee on Security to assess impact

Feb 25,2022

Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over a crucial meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on Thursday to take stock of the crisis triggered by Russia’s military operations in Ukraine. Modi will reportedly speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the issue.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh, home minister Amit Shah, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and external affairs minister S Jaishankar were seen in a video of the meeting circulated by government sources. Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal and petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri, who are not part of the CCS, also attended the meeting, as the sectors they oversee can be impacted by the crisis. Their presence suggests the discussions might have gone well beyond the arena of just security or strategic concerns.

PK Mishra, the principal secretary to the Prime Minister, and the National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, too, took part in the meeting.

It comes on a day when global Brent crude oil jumped over 8% to cross $105 a barrel in intra-day trade, the highest since 2014, as the Russian attack stoked fresh concerns about disruptions in global energy supply.

Earlier in the day, an official source indicated that macro-economic impact of the crisis on India could be deliberated upon in the meeting amid the spike in global crude oil prices and slide in stock markets. The discussion could also centre around potential steps to minimise the any spillover effect of the conflict on the Indian economy in particular and consumers in general, he said. If the oil prices continue to surge, the government may be forced to trim fuel taxes to soften the blow to consumers.

Putin ignored international condemnation and sanctions and announced the launch of the military strike against Ukraine on Thursday. He also issued warnings to other countries that any attempt by them to meddle in this would lead to consequences that they had “never seen”.