India has summoned Russia’s top diplomat to condemn what it called an unacceptable Russian attack on a commercial vessel departing the Ukrainian port of Odesa that killed four Indian sailors and left another critically injured.
Russian Chargé d’Affaires Vladimir Ladanov was asked to convey New Delhi’s “strong concerns” to Moscow over the strike on the MV Golden Leo, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Tuesday.
“The targeting of commercial shipping and the resulting loss of innocent civilian lives are unacceptable and must be avoided,” the ministry said, describing the attack as “deplorable”.
The vessel, carrying 17 crew members, including five Indian nationals, was struck on Sunday evening. Ukraine’s port authority said 10 people were killed when a Guinea-Bissau-flagged merchant ship was hit near Odesa.
The Indian ministry did not provide details of the attack but said it was working to provide assistance to those affected and had offered condolences to the families of the dead.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces had launched a “massive” attack on what it described as military and logistical centres in Kyiv and the surrounding region, as well as the Pivdennyi port in Odesa.
Russia and Ukraine exchanged heavy fire over the weekend.
Ukrainian forces on Saturday struck warehouses operated by one of Russia’s largest e-commerce companies, while Kyiv has carried out near-daily attacks on Russian energy infrastructure in an effort to disrupt Moscow’s war effort and pressure the Kremlin towards negotiations.
The latest deaths come after several Indian sailors were killed in a series of attacks on ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz during the US-Iran war.
India has maintained close ties with Russia since the Soviet era and has stood apart from many major democracies in its reluctance to criticise President Vladimir Putin.
New Delhi has abstained from UN votes condemning Russia’s war in Ukraine and declined to join punitive measures against Moscow.
But the attack near Odesa has prompted a firm public rebuke from the Indian government, which reiterated that targeting commercial shipping and putting civilian crews at risk was unacceptable.
More than 310,000 Indian seafarers work on merchant ships, making India the world’s second-largest supplier of sailors, according to estimates from BIMCO and the International Chamber of Shipping.