As the second batch of the Sputnik V landed in Hyderabad, Telangana on Sunday, Russian Ambassador to India, Nikolay Kudashev termed the Russian-Indian fight against Covid-19, as an example of the special and privileged strategic partnership and an effective model of international anti-pandemic cooperation.

"We are very happy to see that the Russian-Indian joint fight against the Covid-19, which is one of the vital areas of our bilateral cooperation nowadays, has firmly stood on rails and moving forward," the Russian envoy told ANI. Sputnik V has become the first foreign-made vaccine to be used in India contributing to the world's largest Covid-19 vaccination campaign. Inoculations with Sputnik V in Hyderabad started Friday followed by the arrival of the first batch of the vaccine in India on May 1, 2021.