An aircraft carrying a 23-member Ukrainian delegation led by First Lady Olena Zelenska, the wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, landed at the Jaipur Airport and departed after a brief 90-minute layover. The development comes amid the recent escalation in the Russia-Ukraine war.
Russia-Ukraine war: Amid US President Donald Trump accusing India of funding the Russia-Ukraine war by purchasing Russian oil, a recent incident has sparked rumors and speculations about a ‘secret’ India-Ukraine meeting, after an aircraft carrying a 23-member Ukrainian delegation led by First Lady Olena Zelenska, the wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, landed at the Jaipur Airport and departed after a brief 90-minute layover.
Why Ukraine’s First Lady landed in Jaipur?
According to India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the plane carrying a high-powered 23-member Ukrainian delegation, including First Lady Olena Zelenska, made a pre-scheduled halt at the Jaipur Airport at 6:30 AM on August 3, 2025, for refueling.
The delegation included top Ukrainian government officials, including Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiha, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Serhiy Kislitsia, Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture Oleksiy Sobolev, Deputy Minister of Economy Tetiana Berezna, Deputy Prime Minister’s Advisor for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Maria Lazareva, Deputy Minister of Economy Andriy Telyupa and other senior ministers, the MEA said.
As per officials, Olena Zelenska stayed in the airport lounge for a brief period and later went back to her flight, which departed Jaipur Airport at 8 AM after refueling.
Where was the aircraft headed to?
As per details, the Ukrainian delegation led by Zelenska was headed to Tokyo, Japan, and while the exact reason of the trip has not been made public, its believed that the top officials from Kyiv arrived in the Japanese capital to further strengthen ties between the two countries, days ahead of US’ President Donald Trump’s August 15 deadline for Moscow to agree to a ceasefire and a peace deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
Japan, a close ally of the United States, has been a major supporter of Ukraine.
Was there a ‘secret’ India-Ukraine meeting?
Meanwhile, the delegation’s brief layover at the Jaipur Airport sparked rumors about a ‘secret’ meeting with Indian officials, however, these claims have been refuted by MEA sources, who stated that it had already received details about the plane’s stop via email, following which strict security arrangements were made at Jaipur airport for the high-profile visit.
Quoting MEA sources, reports said the visit was purely a “transit technical stop”, and no official talks related to India-Ukraine relations took place.
