Biden administration officials have stated that Russia has asked China for military and economic assistance to help push its invasion of Ukraine.
Reports also cited other US officials saying that after 20 days into the war, there were signs of Russian special military economic assistance operations running out of non-specified weaponry. Moreover, Russia has also asked for economic assistance.
It is quite evident that Washington knows exactly what hardware help President Putin has sought out from Beijing.
Concern for India?
India still depends upon Russia for its military spares and supplies for its front lines economic assistance, and if Russian forces are running out of supplies and spares, it becomes quite a sobering thought for the Modi government.
For example, Russian T-90 tanks, Su-30MKI fighters, and the under-maintenance INS Vikramaditya aircraft carrier are all completely reliant on the original equipment manufactured by Moscow.
The biggest Indian fear is the cutting of the arms spares supply chain after massive sanctions imposed by the west and the diversion of hardware by Moscow to the Ukraine front.
The Increasing Problem
In Ukraine, they have a history of nationalism in the western parts of the country, and under no circumstances are they going back down. With Russia still not being able to capture the main cities, the war shows no signs of complete victory by Putin’s Z force.
Moscow’s problems are going to compound with each passing day with the west injecting high-tech arms into Ukraine, leading to a rise in the morale of the defending troops. Despite the fog of war, the Russian armoured economic assistance losses are quite evident, apart from the incapability of Moscow to achieve air dominance over the skies of Ukraine.
This has resulted in Ukraine using Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones to take out Russian armoured columns at will. Experienced Russian watchers are reminded of the confidence with which the Red Army went to Afghanistan in 1979, expecting to capture Kabul in days.
The Afghan war ultimately turned out to be a quagmire for the Russian army, with Pakistan-based and US-trained jihadis ensuring a humiliating return home a decade later.
India’s Neutrality
While cold war relics in Indian diplomacy are battling for Russia in the Ukraine war, it’s only a matter of time before New Delhi comes under serious pressure from its QUAD partners to change its neutral position on Moscow.
Although India will not have to answer any nation in Europe after explaining its stance to France. European powers like the UK and Germany maintained radio silence when the Chinese army transgressed into Ladakh in May 2020.
Conclusion
However, the economic assistance hardware decoupling from Russia is complex and will take years despite PM Modi constantly pushing the “Atmanirbhar Bharat” agenda, but its translation on the ground will take time, and this too, is only possible if the military bureaucracy, the PSUs, and the R&D establishment do not place any hurdle.
With the US being hit by Iranian missiles in Erbil, Houthi rebels from Yemen firing ballistic missiles into the UAE, China belligerent in the South China Sea over Taiwan, and Russians underestimating Ukraine, one thing is certain: the world is becoming more uncertain by the day.
Published by – Kiruthiga K
Edited by – Kritika Kashyap
