Putin arrives in New Delhi on a state visit aimed at bolstering Russia-India ties

NEW DELHI (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin landed in India Thursday on a state visit aimed at bolstering bilateral and economic ties between the two countries.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi received the Russian leader at an airport in New Delhi, giving a bear hug and a tight handshake with the gusto of an old friend.

Modi will host Putin for a private dinner Thursday night at his decked-up official residence.

On Friday, the two leaders will hold talks as part of the 23rd India-Russia Summit and discuss deepening economic cooperation, mainly in defense, energy and the mobility of skilled labor.

Putin’s visit comes at a sensitive time in global politics when there is a renewed push by the U.S. on a peace deal to bring the Russia-Ukraine war to an end. The visit will test New Delhi’s efforts to balance relations with Moscow and Washington as the nearly four-year war in Ukraine grinds on.

Critics say while India has historically maintained deep ties with Russia. Putin’s visit could ruffle feathers among anti-Moscow nations and potentially jeopardize New Delhi’s negotiations for major trade agreements with the European Union and the United States, deals seen as critical for boosting India’s exports.

Putin last visited India in 2021. Modi was in Moscow last year, and the two leaders briefly met in September in China during a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit.

Before his visit, Putin told India Today — an Indian media group — in an interview that Russia had plans to cooperate with India in “the most important areas: cutting-edge technology, space exploration and nuclear energy,” Russian state news agency Tass reported.

Putin acknowledged that heavy sanctions on Russia’s economy caused “certain difficulties,” but said that there were solutions and that countries that tried to hinder third-country trade would “ultimately suffer losses themselves.”

“India is a great power, not a British colony. And everyone will have to accept that,” Putin was quoted as saying by Tass.

Putin referred to Modi as a friend.

Bilateral trade stood at $68.7 billion in the last fiscal year that ended in March, according to Indian government data. The two countries are looking to reach $100 billion by 2030. At present, trade is heavily skewed in favor of Russia with deep deficits for India.

India’s exports stood at a marginal $4.88 billion, while imports were at $63.84 billion, largely led by inbound shipments of Russian crude.

Indian officials said that New Delhi was working with Moscow to bridge the deficit and boost exports across sectors, including marine products, agriculture, automobiles and pharmaceuticals.

Multiple agreements were expected Friday in shipping, health care, fertilizers, connectivity and labor mobility — which would give impetus to both relations and trade, they said.

Russia continues to be India’s biggest supplier of military hardware, despite New Delhi trying to diversify its purchases from other countries over the past few years.

Hours before the Russian President landed, his Defense Minister Andrei Belousov co-chaired an intergovernmental commission on military and technical cooperation with Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh.

A readout from the Indian defense ministry said that Singh stressed new opportunities to enhance collaboration with Russia across niche technologies while Belousov offered support to help New Delhi become self-reliant in defense production.

Defense cooperation is expected to be at the core of the discussion when Putin and Modi hold talks.

India is expected to push Russia for faster delivery of two further S-400 surface-to-air missile systems, after receiving three under a 2018 deal worth about $5.4 billion. The delay has been tied to supply chain disruptions linked to the war in Ukraine.

Indian authorities are also exploring the possibility of acquiring additional S-400 units or an upgraded variant, though no contract or announcement is expected during Putin’s visit.

Indian defense planners say the S-400 proved effective during a brief military standoff with Pakistan in May.

Talks are also expected on upgrading India’s Russian-made Su-30MKI fighter jets and accelerating deliveries of critical military hardware, as well as improving coordination on joint exercises and disaster relief.

Moscow is keen on selling its stealth fighter jet Su-57 to India, but New Delhi has kept its options open to other foreign suppliers as well.

Washington has been critical of India buying discounted Russian oil, which it says helps finance Moscow’s war machine. In August, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed additional 25% tariffs on Indian imports, raising the total duties to 50% in retaliation.

India has defended its imports as essential for meeting the growing energy needs of its 1.4 billion people. The matter is expected to come up for detailed discussion.

In October, the U.S. sanctioned two of Moscow’s biggest oil producers, in a move aimed at forcing countries like India to cut down on imports.

Indian officials say New Delhi has always abided by international sanctions and will do so in the case of Russian oil purchase too. However, options remain open to source from entities that aren’t in the sanction net yet.

Praveen Donthi, senior analyst for India at International Crisis Group, said that the summit would offer opportunities for India and Russia to reaffirm their relationship amid intense pressure from Trump, who imposed steep tariffs to punish New Delhi for importing Russian oil.

“While this pressure has succeeded in getting New Delhi to reduce its crude oil imports from Russia, it will continue to uphold defense with Moscow, especially amid tensions with China and Pakistan,” Donthi said.

Katie Marie Davies contributed to this report from Manchester, England.

Men walk past a billboard with portraits of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, hours before the scheduled arrival of the latter in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo)

A man clinging to a tree on the Guadalupe River and screaming for a helicopter rescue. A father hustling his family into the attic to escape the rising waters. A Camp Mystic staffer pleading with a 911 operator to send help immediately.

Five months after catastrophic flooding killed more than 100 people in a single hard-hit county in the Texas Hill Country, hundreds of 911 audio files released Friday give a new glimpse into the terror and panic that surrounded the July 4 floods.

Here are the stories of desperate victims of the catastrophic deluge in Kerr County:

Water was rising in a home near the river on Highway 39 when a dispatcher asked a terrified caller if he needed police, fire or emergency medical services to help him.

“I need everything sir," the man said. "My house is so flooded. The water is 3 feet (1 meter) up. I’ve got children here. I just need somebody to be aware. I am afraid this is all going to go.”

The dispatcher urged the caller to get as high above the ground level as he can.

“Let’s go," the man tells his family. "Get in there. Get up there.”

—-

“We don't know what to do,” a woman calling from Camp Mystic told a dispatcher as she begged them to send help soon.

The frantic-sounding dispatcher cut her off and said they were fielding “tons of calls about the flooding” and advised the woman to go to the highest point that she could. “We’re working on it as fast as we can,” she said.

The woman calling for help appeared confused.

“There is water everywhere, we cannot move. We are upstairs in a room and the water level is rising,” the woman responded. “If the water will be in our room, what should we do?"

After getting disconnected, the woman called back to repeat her increasingly frantic questions.

“How do we get to the roof if the water is so high?“ she asked.

Asked when help would arrive, the dispatcher responded, “I don’t know. I don’t know.”

Minutes later, sounds of screaming can be heard in the background as an employee at the camp called, telling a dispatcher that a wall had been destroyed. “We need help,” the woman says frantically.

The flood killed 25 girls and two teenage counselors at Camp Mystic, and the owner of the all-girls camp also died.

——

A woman who lives about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from Camp Mystic tells a dispatcher that they found campers.

“We've already got two little girls who have come down the river," the woman says. "And we’ve gotten to them but I’m not sure how many others are out there,” she says in a shaky voice.

She says the girls are at her house, and they’re the only ones she’s seen at this point.

A man tells a dispatcher he’s in a building stuck in a room, with the water almost up to his head.

The dispatcher asks if he can get on top of the building.

“No, I can’t!” the man says frantically. He tells the dispatcher a window is broken and there’s water rushing in. “I’m inside the building. I’m stuck in this room. I can’t get out,” the man yells.

The dispatcher tells him they’re sending people, trying to get them there soon. He leaves the call saying, “The best I can say is to try to keep your head above the water.”

——

A woman says she’s trapped in a building at Camp La Junta.

“Help, the building is falling apart. The water is so high. Oh, no. Oh, no,” she says, as she tells the dispatcher her name over and over again.

The dispatcher tells her that help is coming, but they’re having trouble getting to a lot of places because of the water. But they are trying, he says.

—-

A man calls 911 to report that he and his family are in the attic of a home on Highway 39 but the water is about to overtake the windows.

The dispatcher says there’s not much more she can tell them to do.

A woman interrupts the call: “We’re going to die,” she says through sobs. “I have an infant. She can’t hold her breath. If you come and the water is too high and you say hold your breath, she can’t hold her breath.”

The dispatcher responds: “I understand that but our rescue units are gonna do everything they can."

Bradley Perry, a firefighter, calmy tells a dispatcher that he is stranded in a tree that has started to lean.

“I’m going to die if I don’t get a helicopter. Is it possible?” he asked, explaining: “I’ve probably got maybe five minutes left and I’m dead."

Perry described seeing his wife, Tina Perry, and their RV washed away. He feared his wife was already dead.

“We’re trying to get people out as soon as we can,” the dispatcher told Perry.

“OK, thank you,” he replied.

Bradley Perry did not survive. His wife was later found clinging to a tree, still alive.

A woman calls to report that her children are trapped inside an RV trailer. The flooding is so forceful that it had started to carry the trailer away.

“It is moving,” the woman said. “A car that was there is gone."

The dispatcher assures the woman that she would send help as quickly as possible.

“I need someone here immediately,” the caller said.

Two minutes later, the woman calls back, becoming irate when the dispatcher says that she is sending help “as soon as possible.”

“No. Not as soon as possible. Now!” she says forcefully. She repeats “now” over and over until the call is disconnected.

——

Associated Press writers John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, Jamie Stengle in Dallas and Safiyah Riddle in Montgomery, Alabama, contributed to this report.

FILE - Damage is seen on July 8, 2025, near Hunt, Texas, after a flash flood swept through the area. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, file)

FILE - Camper's belongings sit outside one of Camp Mystic's cabins near the Guadalupe River after a flash flood swept through the area, July 7, 2025, in Hunt, Texas. (AP Photo/Eli Hartman, file)

FILE - Rain falls as Irene Valdez visits a make-shift memorial for flood victims along the Guadalupe River, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)