Russian Defence Minister calls up Nirmala Sitharaman, expresses condolence over Pulwama attack

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoygu called his Indian counterpart Nirmala Sitharaman to express condolences for the Pulwama terror attack and further strengthened the military cooperation between the two countries.

"Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoygu called Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to express condolences for the Pulwama attack and emphasized on the determination to strengthen Indo-Russian military cooperation," the Defence Ministry of India tweeted.

Around 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel lost their lives after a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into the convoy of the security forces in Pulwama in South Kashmir. Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), a terror outfit based in Pakistan, claimed the responsibility of orchestrating the attack.

On February 26, India carried out air strike on a JeM training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, following which Jammu and Kashmir saw heightened military activity from February 27 onwards. Pakistani jets violated the Indian air space and dropped some bombs in Rajouri sector after which one of their fighters was shot down.

Early on February 28, India also claimed it foiled an attempt by Pakistan Air Force to carry out strikes in Jammu and Kashmir by shooting down an F-16 fighter plane.

On the same day, Russian President Vladimir Putin also telephoned Prime Minister Narendra Modi and expressed his condolences on the ghastly terror attack. He further conveyed solidarity of the people of Russia with the people of India in the fight against terrorism.

Both leaders also agreed that the concerned (Pakistan) should stop all support to terrorism.