NEW DELHI, November 10, 2026: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said India is ready to help mediate food corridors through the Black Sea, raising the prospect of a Black Sea grain corridor arrangement, after a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of a new round of US-mediated talks with Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi. The Indian government confirmed the call and reiterated its support for a peaceful settlement, although its public readout did not specifically mention a grain-corridor proposal or set out a formal mediation role.
Zelenskyy said the two leaders discussed Russia’s disruption of grain exports through the Black Sea and the wider diplomatic effort to end the war. He said India could use its contacts with other leaders to help advance food security and described New Delhi as ready to act as a mediator in establishing food corridors. The statement was Zelenskyy’s account of the discussion; the Prime Minister’s Office described India’s readiness to contribute to peace efforts in broader terms.
In its readout issued on November 9, the Prime Minister’s Office said Modi had thanked Zelenskyy for sharing his assessment of the conflict, its humanitarian aspects and efforts to restore peace. It said Modi had reiterated India’s firm commitment to contributing in every possible way towards a peaceful resolution and that the leaders discussed strengthening bilateral cooperation. Modi also said publicly that the two sides had reviewed their wider partnership and agreed to deepen India-Ukraine ties.
Later on Monday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov about the Ukraine conflict and diplomatic initiatives under way, according to Jaishankar’s public update, which was reported by Hindustan Times and The Statesman. The call gave New Delhi a direct channel to Moscow on the same day it engaged Kyiv, but the public account did not disclose a specific proposal, commitment or agreement. It should therefore be read as diplomatic outreach, not evidence that Russia has accepted India’s role in a grain-corridor arrangement.
The call came as Ukraine prepares for talks with Russia and the United States scheduled for November 10 and 11 in Abu Dhabi. Zelenskyy said he briefed Modi on the diplomatic track and on the agenda for the meeting. He also said the Ukrainian side was preparing to discuss the issues before the delegations and expected Russia to show the same willingness to de-escalate that Kyiv says it has demonstrated.
The Black Sea issue is narrower than a comprehensive peace settlement, but it carries consequences beyond the battlefield. Ukraine is a major agricultural exporter, and its Black Sea ports are important routes for shipments of grain and other food commodities. When vessels cannot move safely or exporters cannot rely on port access, cargoes can be delayed, redirected or become more expensive to transport. The disruption can affect importers far from the conflict, particularly countries that depend on international markets for wheat, maize and other staples.
A food corridor would require more than a political announcement. Any arrangement would need workable rules for shipping, agreed routes, monitoring, insurance and a response to incidents at sea. It would also require the parties to accept that civilian cargoes and port infrastructure should not be used as leverage in the wider war. The practical challenge is that the Black Sea is both a commercial route and an active theatre of military operations.
The previous Black Sea Grain Initiative, brokered by the United Nations and Türkiye in July 2022, enabled exports from three Ukrainian ports — Odesa, Chornomorsk and Yuzhny/Pivdennyi — under a monitored arrangement involving Russia, Ukraine, Türkiye and the UN. The initiative was not renewed after its third term expired on July 17, 2023. Subsequent attempts to restore a durable, jointly accepted framework have faced security and political obstacles. Ukraine has since relied on alternative routes and its own maritime arrangements, but attacks and threats around the sea continue to raise risks for commercial shipping.
Zelenskyy’s remarks point to food security as one area where India may be able to contribute without taking a seat in the core negotiations. India has maintained diplomatic channels with both Moscow and Kyiv and has repeatedly called for dialogue. Its ability to turn that access into a practical arrangement, however, will depend on whether the parties involved are willing to accept an Indian role and whether a corridor can be protected from military escalation.
As of Tuesday morning, November 10, the first formal session was scheduled to begin in Abu Dhabi at about 06:30 GMT, or 12:00 pm in India, and the discussions were expected to run for two days. Reuters reported that it would be the first meeting of Russian, Ukrainian and US officials since February. Russia’s delegation is again to be led by Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky and is to include Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and senior military officer Yuri Zhigarlovsky. The timetable is a reported schedule, not confirmation that the session has begun or that the delegations have reached an agreement.
The question of Europe’s role has become the immediate procedural dispute. The Associated Press reported that US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were due to meet officials from Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, NATO and the European Union in the UAE before the trilateral session. Those discussions are intended to address security guarantees and the longer-term security architecture between Russia and Europe. Reuters reported that European representatives would be present in Abu Dhabi but would not join the three-party negotiations; Ukrainian delegates planned separate briefings for their European allies. Moscow has insisted that the formal format remain trilateral. There is no confirmation that Russia has accepted a wider negotiating structure.
The disagreement is not simply about seating arrangements. European governments are likely to be asked to help finance Ukraine’s reconstruction, support security guarantees and implement any post-war framework. The European Union has become a major external funder of Ukraine’s budget and military purchases as direct US aid has fallen. A settlement negotiated without European participation could leave important questions about funding, enforcement and the durability of security commitments unresolved.
The Associated Press reported that the Abu Dhabi session would focus on security guarantees and could prepare the ground for broader discussions with European partners. The Guardian reported additional detail about a possible US proposal for a longer-term security framework between Russia and Europe. US officials told the newspaper that discussions could include reviving the NATO-Russia Council, suspended after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, and potentially easing sanctions on Russia. They also said Washington had discussed with Moscow security guarantees for Ukraine that could resemble NATO’s Article 5. These remain proposals, not agreed terms: the Guardian said the framework was still unclear, while European officials were concerned that Washington could press for serious concessions to Moscow.
The substantive gap remains large. Reuters reported that Moscow has shown no sign of abandoning its demand that Ukraine surrender the entire eastern Donbas region, while President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected handing over land defended by Ukrainian forces. US officials told Reuters they believed the two presidents might be willing to compromise on territory, but a senior Ukrainian official strongly denied that Kyiv would consider such concessions. The Ukrainian position, as reported, is that territory can be discussed only at a leaders-level meeting and in the context of adequate security guarantees. These are competing positions ahead of the talks, not an agreed negotiating formula.
India is not listed among the participants in the trilateral format announced for Abu Dhabi. The Modi-Zelenskyy call therefore represents a parallel diplomatic channel rather than evidence that New Delhi will join the negotiations. The distinction is important: India’s readiness to contribute to peace efforts does not mean that it has been asked to mediate the entire conflict, nor does Zelenskyy’s statement establish that Russia has accepted India as an intermediary on grain shipments.
New Delhi’s position also involves balancing relationships. India has maintained longstanding defence, energy and diplomatic ties with Russia while expanding cooperation with Ukraine in areas including agriculture, technology and humanitarian assistance. The government has avoided presenting itself as a formal mediator in the war, instead emphasising dialogue, diplomacy and a negotiated settlement. A role focused on civilian shipping or food security could be more limited and practical, but it would still require agreement from the countries whose actions determine whether vessels can move safely.
In his evening address on November 9, Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s negotiating group had reached the United Arab Emirates and would propose de-escalation steps at the first meeting. He said Kyiv also wanted to establish a clear path towards a leaders-level format, while stressing that security guarantees and resources for reconstruction would be necessary for a durable settlement.
The address added a new detail to the food-security discussion with India. Zelenskyy said New Delhi had previously put forward proposals on food security, but that the Russian side had not supported them. That goes beyond the broader public readout issued by Modi’s office: it indicates that an Indian proposal had been raised before, but does not establish its exact terms or show that Russia has accepted a new arrangement.
Zelenskyy also said Ukrainian forces were strengthening Kyiv’s position through defensive operations and long-range strikes, and described Russian losses as record daily and weekly totals. Those are claims by Ukraine’s president, not independently verified casualty figures. Reuters reported that the front line remained largely static, that Russia held about one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory and that Russian commanders continued to claim advances while rejecting Kyiv’s assessment of battlefield gains. The military balance and the competing claims will form part of the context for the Abu Dhabi discussions.
The public accounts of the call and Zelenskyy’s later address now provide a clearer, though still incomplete, picture of India’s possible role. The Prime Minister’s Office confirmed that the leaders discussed the conflict, India’s approach to a peaceful settlement and bilateral cooperation. Zelenskyy said they discussed the obstruction of grain exports and that India was ready to help mediate food corridors; in his later address, he said India had already offered food-security proposals that Russia did not support. No joint proposal, timetable, monitoring mechanism or agreement with Russia was announced in the statements reviewed.
That leaves several questions for the next stage of diplomacy. It is not yet clear what form an Indian contribution would take, whether it would involve direct contacts with Moscow, coordination with Türkiye and the United Nations, or support for a broader maritime-security arrangement. Nor has either government published details of a proposed route, the parties that would supervise it or the conditions under which shipping could resume.
The talks in Abu Dhabi may clarify whether the parties are prepared to separate humanitarian and commercial issues from the larger territorial and security disputes. A limited arrangement for food exports could reduce pressure on international supply chains even if a comprehensive ceasefire remains out of reach. But a corridor that exists only on paper would do little for exporters or importing countries if ships continue to face threats, insurance costs remain prohibitive or ports cannot operate reliably.
For India, the immediate test is whether the broad commitment expressed by Modi can be translated into a specific diplomatic initiative that all sides consider useful. For Ukraine, the priority is to secure dependable access to export routes while negotiating under continued military pressure. For Russia and the United States, the question is whether the Abu Dhabi process can produce even limited steps that reduce the conflict’s effects on civilians and global trade.
The Modi-Zelenskyy conversation has put food security and maritime access on the list of issues that India may be able to address. It has not yet produced a formal mediation mandate or a new agreement. The next indications will come from the Abu Dhabi discussions, any follow-up between Indian and Ukrainian officials, and whether Moscow signals that it is willing to consider a protected route for civilian grain shipments.
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