Ukrainian official says India has 'weak intellectual potential', 'doesn't fully understand...'

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak courted controversy with his comments on the ‘intellectual potential’ of Indians and Chinese. Podolyak's statement, which was published in an article by Sputnik, quoted him saying that India and China exhibits ‘weak intellectual potential’ and ‘fail to analyze the consequences of their actions’.

"What's wrong with India, China, and so forth? The problem is that they are not analyzing the consequences of their steps, these countries have weak intellectual potential, unfortunately," Sputnik quoted Podolyak.

"Yes, they invest in science. Yes, India has launched a lunar rover presently and is now trekking on the surface of the Moon, but that does not indicate that this country fully comprehends what the modern world is about", Podolyak added.

The old video of the interview came to limelight when Sputnik published an article on 12 September quoting Podolyak's comments made during an interview in Russian. 

In the video interview the Ukrainian official talks about the successful Chandrayaan-3 mission, but adds the India ‘does not fully comprehend what the modern world is about’. 

This is not the first time Ukrainian officials have taken to the controversial side of Indians. In April this year, Ukraine authorities faced vehement backlash after the Defense of Ukraine's Twitter account shared a ‘work of art’ which showed Hindu goddess Kali in a rather awkward pose, somewhat resembling that Marilyn Monroe's famous pose.

India has maintained a rather diplomatic stance since after Russia unleashed a ‘special military operation’ on the East European nation Ukraine, over a year ago. Much to the dismay of Western powers, India has refused to impose sanctions or condemn the actions of Russia. 

In the recently concluded Group of 20 Summit (G20), India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the New Delhi G20 Leaders Declaration, which received ‘100% consensus’. In this New Delhi declaration, India did not mention Russia as the war perpetrator, and talked about ‘war in Ukraine’. 

The move endured controversy as well as praise for being 'historic' for achieving 100% consensus. 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had claimed diplomatic victory, and declared a G20 summit in India a "success" after the bloc shied away from direct criticism of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

"We were able to prevent the West's attempts to 'Ukrainize' the summit agenda," Lavrov said as the two-day meeting of leaders closed.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian foreign ministry said the G20's joint declaration was "nothing to be proud of" and criticised it for not mentioning Russia.

Since the war broke out between Russia and Ukraine, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stated that India's position on the Ukraine war is clear, transparent, and consistent. He has emphasized on the need for dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the conflict and expressed India's willingness to support efforts to bring an end to the conflict.

(Please Note: Claims made by Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak have been quoted in Sputnik. Mint could not independently verify the remarks)