India on Tuesday recalled Russia’s charge d’affaires following an attack on a ship off the Ukrainian coast days earlier, which left four Indian sailors dead, according to people familiar with the matter. The ship, named MV Golden Leo, was hit while leaving the port of Odessa in southern Ukraine on Sunday.
India on Monday condemned the attack on the Guinea Bissau-flagged merchant ship, which killed 10 sailors on board, and renewed its call for an end to the targeting of commercial shipping during conflicts. “India condemns such attacks and reiterates that targeting commercial vessels, endangering innocent civilian crew members, or impeding freedom of navigation and trade, is unfortunate and must be avoided,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement, without mentioning Russia by name.
This is the first case of Indian sailors being killed in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. New Delhi had already made strong representations to Tehran and Washington earlier over the killing of more than six Indian sailors in Iranian and US attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz in recent weeks.
What happened to MV Golden Leo?
According to the Ukrainian Navy, Russia bombed the Guinea-Bissau-flagged ship – which had personnel from India and Syria on board – with three cruise missiles. The Ukrainian Air Force said the strikes with Russian cruise missiles caused the fire.
Following this, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that four Indian citizens were killed and one of them was taken to hospital in critical condition.
MV Golden Leo was a general cargo ship, with 17 crew members on board at the time of the accident. The Ukrainian Seaports Authority said on Monday that nine crew members from the Golden Leo and a Ukrainian pilot from the port were among the dead. According to LSEG data cited by Reuters, the MV Golden Leo is owned by Mumbai-based Ocean Grace Shipping Ltd.
The Odessa region and Ukraine’s last remaining sea export corridor have come under sustained attack in recent weeks as Russia intensifies its offensive. Moscow attacked foreign-flagged cargo ships transporting goods along the Romanian and Bulgarian coast to Türkiye. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sipha confirmed the attack. Sabiha said: “A civilian ship. An international crew. A road that serves global food security. Putin saw another target…”
The Ukrainian Foreign Minister added, “This attack leaves no room for illusions. Putin’s Russia does not care who it kills: Ukrainians or citizens of any other country.”
