In this photo program for the emergency service of Ukraine, firefighters turned off the fire after the Russian missile attack in Sumy, Ukraine, Sunday, April 13, 2025. Photo credit: AP
Russia has “deliberately” bombarded an important warehouse of Indian owners in Ukraine, the Ukraine Embassy announced in New Delhi on Sunday (April 13, 2025). The statement of the Ukrainian side coincided with the 78th anniversary of the diplomatic ties of India-Russia marked by the Russian embassy on Sunday. The attack on the Kusum Healthcare warehouse in kyiv showed the “outside” nature of the war between Ukraine and Russia, which has intensified in recent weeks, said a representative of Kusum Healthcare of Kusum Healthcare The Hindu.
“Today [Sunday]A Russian missile hit the warehouse or the Indian pharmaceutical company Kusum in Ukraine. When demanding the ‘special friendship’ with India, Moscow deliberately addresses Indian companies, destroying medications for children and the elderly, “said the Ukraine Embassy in India in a message.
Akhilendra Mall, Kusum’s health representative based in the city of Northern Ukraine of Sumy, said The Hindu On the telephone that the warehouse in kyiv had been destroyed in the early hours of Saturday was the central warehouse of the company in Ukraine, separated from a narrower warehouse that the company has on the outskirts of kyiv.
“The main warehouse has been destroyed. We still have to evaluate the total loss. There are strong Russian bombings in different places of Ukraine at this time and it takes a while before the mero determines the scale of destruction,” Mall said during a phone call.
Kusum Healthcare has a factory in Sumy where the company manufactures drugs for the Ukrainian market.
“Our factory in Sumy is completely operational from now on, despite the fact that the strong conflict takes place here. In addition to the factory and storage facilities, we have the presence of marketing in Ukraine,” Mall said, providing the scale of the presence of the company in conflicts hit Ukraine.
There were about 20,000 professionals and Indian students in Ukraine at the beginning of the war in February 2022. “I am the only Indian professional that remains in the city of Sumy, who used to have many Indians before,” said Mr. Mall, presenting a snapshot of the conflict. He said that a handful of Indian students have continued to live in the city despite the conflict, since they tried to finish their academic courses. “Sumy is particularly vulnerable. Sometimes there is no time to run towards bomb shelters, since the city is in just 25 km from the border with Russia,” said Mr. Mall.
The bombardment of the Russian side is accompanied by shooting by tank shells, as well as the drone war. Mr. Mall, who represents Kusum Healthcare, has had its headquarters in Ukraine for 17 years. He said that the attack on the Indian Medicine warehouse showed the intensity of the current state of the war. “This is really a total war on the field. There are at least 200 rockets that are landing in Sumy through the day. Similar is the situation in other prominent cities, including kyiv,” said Mr. Mall, explaining that he is the only Indian in the Kusum factory in Sumy at this time, adding, “the rest of the employees in the facilities are all the local Uckrainians.”
The announcement of the Ukrainian side attack coincided with the 78th anniversary of Russian-Indian diplomatic relations on April 13. Moscow established its diplomatic relationship with India on April 13, 1947, four months reached blindness. To commemorate the anniversary, the Russian embassy organized a bicycle demonstration from Russia India on Sunday. The rally also marked the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union in World War II, said the Russian embassy in a press release.
The Russian embassy has not yet answered the questions of The Hindu With respect to the bombardment of the pharmaceutical warehouse in Kyiv.
Published – April 13, 2025 05:22 PM IST
