New Delhi: Even as the Ukraine war continues to grind into its fifth year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday (August 31) came up with yet another aphorism for Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying the world must move from “endless war to the end of war”. It was the latest in a succession of messages the prime minister has delivered to the Russian leader on the conflict since its outbreak.“Every day that the war continues, humanity takes a step backwards; yet every step towards peace gives humanity real hope,” Modi told Putin at the start of their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.“We must move from endless war to the end of war, to the cessation of hostilities. And we must move in precisely this direction,” he said, calling it “crucial for all of humanity”.The latest phrase adds to the stock of similarly crafted catchphrases that Modi has delivered to Putin since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.At their first meeting after the invasion, on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan in September 2022, Modi told Putin, “Today’s era is not an era of war.”The phrase subsequently became part of India’s diplomatic vocabulary. The Modi government pushed for it to be included in the G20 Leaders’ Declaration adopted in Bali later that year. India’s then-foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra later described the phrase as part of India’s contribution to the consensus on the Bali declaration.India again ensured the phrase appeared in the New Delhi G20 Leaders’ Declaration in September 2023, which ended its section on Ukraine with the same line, “Today’s era must not be of war.”When Modi met Putin in Moscow in July 2024 hours after a Russian missile strike hit the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital in Kyiv, he told the Russian president that “solutions can’t be found on the battlefield” and that peace talks could not succeed amid “bombs, guns and bullets”.This was also highlighted by the Indian side as a sign of India’s efforts towards peace, especially after being perceived as being aligned towards Russia.On Monday, Modi said India supported “all peace efforts” over Ukraine and would continue to do so. He also invoked India’s association with Mahatma Gandhi and Gautama Buddha.“India is the country of Gandhi, the country of Buddha – that is our message,” he said.Foreign secretary Vikram Misri said the Ukraine conflict had again been discussed “in great detail” by the two leaders, and that Modi had reiterated India’s readiness to do whatever was “feasible” and “necessary” to move the conflict towards a conclusion.“This is not the first time that this matter is being discussed between Prime Minister Modi and President Putin,” Misri told reporters after the meeting. “It has been discussed between them on practically every occasion that they have met since the outbreak of the conflict.”Misri declined to disclose Putin’s specific response to Monday’s appeal, saying only that Modi had “always put forth his views with great clarity” and that Putin had “always welcomed the views of the prime minister”.TASS reported that Putin responded to Modi by saying, “We are moving in this direction.” The Russian president also briefed Modi on the progress of Moscow’s ‘military operation’ in Ukraine.Since February 24, 2022, the UN human rights office has verified at least 16,431 civilians killed in Ukraine, among them 803 children, and 48,613 injured, figures it says are almost certainly an undercount.Its monitors reported in July that civilian casualties had risen month-on-month and year-on-year, with June 2026 registering 293 civilians killed and 1,990 injured, the worst month since April 2022.The latest appeal also comes after a series of incidents in the Black Sea in which Indian seafarers were killed last month.On July 19, four Indian crew members were killed when MV Golden Leo, sailing from a Ukrainian port, was struck by missiles in the Black Sea. Ukraine said the vessel had been hit by Russian missiles. India summoned Russian chargé d’affaires Vladimir Ladanov and conveyed its “grave concerns”, calling attacks on commercial shipping and the resulting loss of civilian lives unacceptable.Days later, India summoned Ukraine’s ambassador, Oleksandr Polishchuk, after an Indian seafarer was killed in a strike on the merchant vessel MV Omorfi in the Black Sea. New Delhi condemned attacks on commercial vessels and raised concerns over maritime safety, freedom of navigation and global trade.The two incidents prompted the government to advise Indian nationals to carefully assess security risks before accepting jobs on commercial vessels operating in or transiting the Black Sea.Modi and Putin also discussed the safety of seafarers and the impact of the conflict on maritime trade on Monday, Misri said.The Ukraine war has simultaneously transformed the economic relationship between India and Russia, with the stagnating bilateral trade increasing sharply due to New Delhi’s purchase of Russian oil.Putin said on Monday that bilateral trade had increased 2.6% in the first six months of 2026, after a slight decline last year.This has, however, led to India facing a large trade deficit, which has now become a persistent complaint.Misri said the issue was discussed during Monday’s meeting, with both sides working to increase Indian exports to Russia and diversify the trade basket.Recalling that Modi had handed Putin a paper at last December’s bilateral summit detailing market access problems and non-tariff barriers faced by Indian goods in Russia, he said that Russian market access had improved for Indian meat, marine and dairy products. Moscow was also willing to host an Indian exporters’ forum at the next annual summit, after an Indian-hosted Russian importers’ forum last year.The senior Indian diplomat also stated that Modi raised the unresolved issue involving Indian nationals recruited into the Russian armed forces.Misri said India had information about 227 Indian nationals who had been recruited into the Russian army. Of these, 139 had been discharged and 51 had died.India continues to press Russia for the release and repatriation of those who remain, he said.