Putin-Zelensky Emphasize India's Growing Importance
Modi Also Claims Efforts to End War,
"Indian Company Distributes Dell Servers with 'Semiconductor Components' to Russia"
"Russia and India have a special strategic partnership and continue to actively develop their relationship." - Vladimir Putin, President of Russia
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi can exert influence to end the war in Ukraine. India can help facilitate negotiations to end the war." - Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine
The leaders of Russia and Ukraine, who are at war, recently simultaneously courted India. This is an effort to persuade Prime Minister Modi, who maintains relations with Russia despite pressure from Western countries such as the United States and Europe. As a 'populous country' and 'economic powerhouse,' India has not participated in various sanctions imposed by Western countries during the nearly two years and nine months of ongoing war and has been used as a route for technology such as semiconductors to enter Russia.
On the 22nd of last month (local time) in Kazan, Russia, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (left in the photo) met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]
Modi Meets Putin: "The War Must Be Resolved Peacefully"
Prime Minister Modi recently met President Putin face-to-face at the BRICS summit held in Kazan, Russia. On the 22nd of last month (local time), President Putin warmly welcomed Modi with a big smile, handshake, and hug. Modi expressed gratitude for Putin's friendship and praised the expanding cooperation and development of BRICS.
At the same time, Modi made remarks regarding the war in Ukraine. He said, "We are in constant contact regarding the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine," emphasizing, "I believe this issue must be resolved through peaceful means." He added, "I hope peace and stability will be established soon," and "India is ready to provide all possible support." Modi's remarks attracted global attention as India is a party engaging in dialogue with both Russia and Ukraine.
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Modi has remained a key ally of Russia. He has maintained ties by not joining the sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union (EU) and by meeting with President Putin. After the EU stopped importing Russian crude oil due to the war, India purchased Russian oil. Despite high-level visits from U.S. and EU officials urging India to end its close ties with Russia, these efforts have had little effect.
Last August in Kyiv, Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (right in the photo) met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. [Image source=AFP Yonhap News]
President Zelenskyy emphasized India's importance in an interview with the Indian media outlet Times of India on the 28th of last month, saying, "Modi is the prime minister of a huge country in terms of population, economy, and influence," and added, "Such a country should not merely say it is 'interested' in ending the war." He stressed that the Modi government should block Russia's economy, cheap energy resources, and defense industrial complexes to weaken its war capabilities.
Indian Pharmaceutical Company Delivering AI Semiconductors to Putin... Profits Rise Amid Russian Sanctions
With both the Russian and Ukrainian presidents directly appealing to persuade Prime Minister Modi, attention is also focused on how India is aiding Russia. One of the representative products India exports to Russia, bypassing sanctions, is semiconductors. Recently, Bloomberg reported that an Indian pharmaceutical company is being used as a supply channel for Russia's artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors. This highlights the loopholes that exist despite the U.S. and Europe’s strenuous efforts to prevent cutting-edge semiconductors from flowing into Russia.
According to the report, Shreya Life Sciences, an Indian pharmaceutical company headquartered in Mumbai, purchased 1,111 advanced servers from Dell Technologies between April and August and shipped them to Russia. The Dell PowerEdge XE9680 servers, directly purchased and exported by Shreya, are equipped with cutting-edge AI-specialized processors from Nvidia and AMD. Some of these servers reportedly contain Nvidia's latest AI semiconductor, the H100.
Shreya mostly purchased Dell servers from Malaysia and then exported them to Russia. From January to August this year, over 1,400 Dell servers were exported from Malaysia to India, and during the same period, Shreya exported more than 1,100 servers to Russia. The value of Dell servers exported to Russia is estimated at around $300 million (approximately 417.8 billion KRW). Bloomberg attempted to interview Shreya and visited their office but received no response. Dell, Nvidia, and AMD have maintained that they have controlled sales and exports of their products to Russia since the outbreak of the Ukraine war in February 2022.
Founded in Moscow, Russia, in 1995 and acquired by India's Tada Group in August 2001, Shreya owns manufacturing plants for generic medicines such as insulin, antibiotics, and gastrointestinal drugs. However, since 2022, it has also been engaged in IT equipment transportation. The fact that an Indian pharmaceutical company has become a channel for distributing AI semiconductors to Russia is linked to the company's financial situation. Shreya, which had business ties with Russia, suffered significant losses during the 2014-2015 Crimea annexation crisis and received financial assistance from Russian capital while resolving debt issues around that time.
Since then, Shreya has continued to postpone loan repayments with the help of Russian financial institutions. Bloomberg analyzes that the timing of Shreya's distribution of AI semiconductors and the start of its IT equipment transportation business coincides with this. In September 2022, Shreya exported computer hardware to the Russian trading company Ranprint, which was later included in U.S. sanctions.
Based on the Shreya case, it appears that India is profiting from the Russia-Ukraine war. Bloomberg pointed out, "This reveals loopholes in Western governments' efforts to prevent Russia from accessing cutting-edge technology that can also be used for military purposes." It added, "As the war prolongs, Shreya is making significant profits from its cutting-edge technology export business."
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