Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a historic visit to Kiev on Friday and told Volodymyr Zelenskiy that he was ready to work “as a friend” to reach a peace deal that would end Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Modi said he respected and supported Ukraine’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity.” “It is our top priority,” he said, adding that he had told Vladimir Putin during their meeting in July that “problems cannot be solved on the battlefield.” The war could only end through “dialogue and diplomacy,” he stressed.

The trip is the first to Ukraine by an Indian leader since the country’s independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 and follows a period of strained relations. Zelenskiy criticized Modi’s recent trip to Moscow, which came on the same day that Russian missiles leveled a children’s hospital in Kiev.

Modi has tried to present his government as a neutral peace broker. Since Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which led to Western sanctions, India has imported large quantities of Russian oil at a discount. The country attended the Ukrainian peace summit in Switzerland in July but did not sign a communiqué.

But the Kremlin’s deepening partnership with China — India’s biggest geopolitical and neighborly rival — has prompted a rethink. On Friday, Zelensky warmly embraced Modi, describing his support for Ukraine’s integrity in the face of Russian aggression as “critical.”

“History was made today,” Zelenskiy posted on X, noting that Modi’s “friendly” and “symbolic” visit took place on the eve of Ukraine’s Independence Day celebrations.

The two leaders stood together in front of a museum monument to Ukrainian children killed by Russian missiles. In official talks, they discussed the 10-point peace formula that Zelenskyy presented to the international community, according to India’s foreign ministry.

The blueprint calls for the withdrawal of Russian troops from occupied territories, reparations and war crimes tribunals for Russian generals and politicians. Ukrainian officials are preparing to host a second peace summit this year and are keen to include countries to the south. One venue under discussion is understood to be Saudi Arabia.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser in the Ukrainian president’s office, said Friday’s talks in Kiev were important because Delhi “really has some influence” on Moscow.

“It is of great importance for us to build effective relations with such countries, to explain to them what the right end to the war is – and that it is also in their interest,” he told Reuters.

Modi’s trip comes at a time when both the Russian and Ukrainian militaries are making gains. Two and a half weeks ago, Ukraine launched a surprise attack on Russia. On Friday, the military said it had used U.S.-supplied glide bombs to carry out precision strikes on a Russian platoon base in the Kursk region, destroying enemy equipment. A video showed explosions and plumes of smoke.

Ukraine’s armed forces now control a 1,250-square-kilometer (480-square-mile) area inside Russia, centered around the city of Sudzha. The Kremlin has downplayed the incursion and vowed to expel Ukrainian “terrorists.” About 130,000 Russians have fled. Heavy fighting continues in the city of Korenevo and a dozen frontline villages.

Russia’s invasion — the first by foreign forces since World War II — has gone better than Kiev expected. On Thursday, Zelenskyy said the “buffer zone” had reduced cross-border shelling of civilians. It’s unclear whether there is a Ukrainian military exit strategy if Putin responds with overwhelming force.

In the Donetsk region, however, Russian combat units, supported by warplanes, have advanced. They are now 11 km from the city of Pokrovsk, a Ukrainian military hub, and 5 km from the town of Myrnohrad. Ukraine had hoped that the surprise attack on Kursk province would force Moscow to scale back its attack on Pokrovsk.

But according to Ukrainian sources, there has been no significant withdrawal of Russian troops. Instead, units have been pulled back almost everywhere else, including Toretsk, a frontline city under intense Russian fire. Putin still believes he can achieve a breakthrough on the eastern front, the sources suggest.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s 3rd Separate Assault Brigade said it had advanced nearly 2 km in the Kharkiv region. No details were given. In May, Russian forces conducted their own cross-border raid in the area, capturing the city of Vovchansk. Russian forces are holding out in several districts. One battle group is reportedly surrounded in a meat factory.

Over the past week, Ukraine has used long-range drones to strike numerous critical infrastructure sites in Russia. This includes an airport that appears to have sustained extensive damage near the city of Volgograd after an attack on Thursday. An oil depot that was hit earlier in the week in Rostov was still burning on Friday, with a massive fire.

On Friday, the U.S. imposed sanctions on more than 400 organizations and individuals that support Russia’s war effort in Ukraine, including Chinese companies that U.S. officials say are helping Moscow circumvent Western sanctions and expand its military.

Washington has repeatedly warned Beijing about its support for Russia’s defense industry and has imposed hundreds of sanctions aimed at limiting Moscow’s ability to exploit certain technologies for military purposes. Friday’s sanctions include measures against companies in China involved in shipping machine tools and microelectronics to Russia.