The Congress on Saturday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government must explain why Russia has reportedly “chosen to ignore” New Delhi’s appeals against its supply of advanced RD-93MA engines to Pakistan’s fleet of Chinese-made JF-17 fighter jets.

“This development underscores yet another failure of Prime Minister Modi’s personalised brand of diplomacy, which prioritises image-building and global spectacle over national interests,” Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said on social media.

The RD-93MA engine is manufactured by Russia’s United Engine Corporation-Klimov, The Financial Express reported. It powers the Block III variant of Pakistan’s JF-17 Thunder jets, which has been developed jointly with China.

Ramesh’s remarks on Saturday come amid reports that India had urged Russia not to supply the engines to Pakistan after Operation Sindoor. However, Russia proceeded with its decision to supply the parts despite high-level diplomatic interventions.

In his social media post, the Congress leader said that the “latest Block III variant of this [Pakistan’s JF-17] aircraft will feature the upgraded [RD-93MA] engine and the same PL-15 missiles believed to have been used” against India during the four-day conflict between the two countries in May.

The Rajya Sabha MP noted that Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh also stated on Friday that the JF-17s may have been among the Pakistani fighters that were used against India.

Ramesh, citing news reports, claimed that the agreement between Pakistan and Russia on the RD-93MA engine was moving forward despite alleged interventions by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in June 2025.

“The government owes the nation an explanation as to why a long-time and trusted partner like Russia is now providing military support to Pakistan,” he said, adding that India continued to purchase missile systems and negotiates for stealth fighters from Moscow.

Ramesh said the development shows that India remains unable to diplomatically isolate Pakistan.

He said: “Instead, Pakistan’s leadership – including its Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, whose communally poisonous statements provided the immediate backdrop to the Pahalgam terror attack – is being courted very warmly by President Donald Trump and supplied weapons by President Vladimir Putin, all while enjoying unqualified backing from China during Operation Sindoor.”

The Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 killed 26 persons, and sparked a four-day military conflict between India and Pakistan in May.

Six days before the attack, on April 16, Munir had said at a convention in Islamabad that Hindus and Muslims were fundamentally different, and that this was the foundation of the two-nation theory that formed the basis for Pakistan’s creation.

“Our religion is different, our customs are different, our traditions are different, our thoughts are different, our ambitions are different. That was the foundation of the two-nation theory…” Munir had said.

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