Russia-Ukraine conflict: India needs to be ready for future wars, says Gen MM Naravane

General MM Naravane said that the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia shows that a conventional war could happen and India needs to be ready for future wars.

New Delhi: Indian Army Chief General M M Naravane said on Tuesday that the “biggest lesson that we can learn from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war is that India needs to be ready to fight future wars with indigenous weapons.”

General Naravane said that the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia shows that a conventional war could happen. In response to a question on the sidelines of an event here, he underlined that the war between Russia and the eastern European country was being fought in a physical domain.

Is the war being fought in cyberspace or through air-conditioned chambers, he rhetorically asked, adding that this war shows that a "conventional war could happen". "The war we are seeing is being fought physically on the ground," the Army chief said.

"So, a conventional war could happen. And, we have to be operationally ready," Naravane said when asked what the biggest lesson from the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war was.

“There are many lessons that can be learnt from the ongoing Ukraine-Russian War. The crisis shows that wars can happen any time & we've to remain prepared for them. The wars wouldn't just be non-kinetic and would be fought in the physical domain also,” the Army Chief said.

Russia started a military offensive against Ukraine on February 24 this year. According to United Nations' estimate, around 2 million refugees have sought shelter in neighbouring countries of Ukraine over the last 12 days.