India on Monday condemned the Russian attack on a Guinea Bissau-flagged commercial ship off the coast of Ukraine, killing 10 people, including four Indian sailors, and renewed its call to end the targeting of commercial shipping during conflicts.
This is the first case of Indian sailors being killed in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. More than six Indian sailors have been killed in Iranian and US attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz in recent weeks, prompting New Delhi to lodge strong representations with Tehran and Washington.
The general cargo ship MV Golden Leo was attacked on Sunday evening while leaving the port of Odessa. At the time of the accident, there were 17 crew members on board, including five Indian nationals.
The Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement that four Indian crew members died and one of them was taken to hospital in critical condition. 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.
The Ukrainian Air Force said the Golden Leo plane was hit by Russian cruise missiles, causing a fire.
“India condemns such attacks and reiterates that targeting commercial vessels and endangering innocent civilian crew members, or impeding freedom of navigation and trade, is unfortunate and must be avoided,” the External Affairs Ministry’s statement said, without naming Russia directly.
The Indian Embassy in Ukraine is closely monitoring the situation and is making every effort to provide assistance to those affected. The statement read: “We offer our sincere condolences to the families of the deceased Indian citizens and wish the injured Indian citizen a speedy and complete recovery.”
The Odessa region and Ukraine’s last remaining sea export corridor have come under sustained attack in recent weeks as Russia intensifies its offensive. This has included Russian attacks on foreign-flagged cargo ships transporting goods along the Romanian and Bulgarian coast to Türkiye.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sepha said that Russia attacked a civilian ship sailing in the Ukrainian sea lane. He added on social media that “the crew includes citizens of Syria and India.”
“Civilian ship. International crew. A route serving global food security.” [Russian President Vladimir] Sabiha said: “Putin saw another target. This attack leaves no room for illusions. Putin’s Russia does not care who it kills: Ukrainians or citizens of any other country.”
Ssibha stressed that the attack was not an isolated incident, as Russia attacked another ship flying the flag of Antigua and Barbuda in the Black Sea, killing one person and wounding three others. He added: “Russia is deliberately turning freedom of navigation into a war target.”
The minister said that he discussed this issue with the leadership of the International Maritime Organization and called for the deployment of an international monitoring mission in Ukrainian ports. “We expect this mission to begin operating as planned in the fall and help document every act of Russian maritime terrorism, paving the way for accountability,” he added.
