Delhi said its goal was to “further strengthen defense co-operation and foster camaraderie between India and Russia, thereby reinforcing the spirit of collaboration and mutual trust.” The ministry added that Indian troops will participate in joint training, tactical drills, and weapons exercises alongside Russian forces.
India has always had a close relationship with Russia post WW2 given the strained relationship with Western Europe, which is due to a few centuries of colonial exploitation. The British, Dutch, Portugese all had companies that subverted local sovereignty and through mercantilistic policies extracted trillions in wealth from 1498 to 1947.
India was warming up to the West thanks to diplomatic efforts by the West’s main player (US) over the past few decades but Trump screwed that up so here we are.