According to MEA, India did not vote against Russia when it approved Zelensky's statement.

 India had cast a historic no vote against a Russian proposal to prevent the president of Ukraine from practically addressing the UNSC.

India for the first time voted against Russia during a "procedural vote" at UN Security Council

In a procedural vote at the U.N. Security Council on whether to permit Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to virtually address the Council during a debate on the Ukrainian situation on August 24, India on Thursday denied that it had voted "against Russia." Russia, which had requested the vote, objected to the Ukrainian President speaking through VTC (Video TeleConferencing) and demanded that he appear in person in New York or permit the Ukrainian Ambassador to speak during the discussion that marked six months of the conflict. India and the other 12 members voted in favour of Mr. Zelensky appearing during the discussion, while China chose to abstain. The vote, according to officials, was not about Russia or Ukraine but rather whether to support or oppose Mr. Zelensky's involvement.

"From what I gather, we didn't vote against anyone. He requested that we let him communicate virtually, and we agreed. We encouraged him because it was the third time he had virtually addressed the UN. When asked about the vote at his weekly media briefing, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi responded, "There is no question that we would vote against Russia.

India's Permanent Representative Ruchira Kamboj had made an appeal for diplomacy and communication between Russia and Ukraine at the UNSC on Wednesday. She also stated that India continues to send humanitarian aid to those affected by the conflict and collaborate with other nations to reduce food and fuel shortages brought on by the conflict. Officials played down the significance of India's vote to allow Mr. Zelensky's speech by emphasising that India's position on the matter hasn't changed.

India's vote was notable since it was the first time India had voted "against" Russia on a UN resolution involving the situation in Ukraine. India has abstained and refused to support any resolution criticising Russian actions in more than a dozen such votes at the UNSC and UN General Assembly since February of this year, when Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities in what he called a "special military operation."

Technically, we did reject a Russian preference, but in practise, the issue at hand was different, according to one official.

The Indian vote came a few weeks after S. Jaishankar, the minister of external affairs, had a conversation with Dmytro Kuleba, the foreign minister of Ukraine, on August 8 concerning humanitarian aid that India had sent to that country, including medications and bandages.

However, since then, Ukraine has intensified its criticism of New Delhi's plan to significantly boost its imports of Russian oil. On August 17, Mr. Kuleba stated that he had hoped for greater "practical support" from India in a virtual press conference.

"India must comprehend that the discounted price of Russian crude oil must be paid for with Ukrainian blood. In answer to a query from The Hindu, Mr. Kuleba had stated, "Every barrel of Russian oil that India gets has a significant part of Ukrainian blood in it.

The same day, Mr. Jaishankar had defended India's position in a conversation in Bangkok by claiming that the country's poor could not afford rising fuel prices. According to Mr. Jaishankar, "every government would attempt to assure the best deal it gets to cushion high energy prices," and India is following suit.