India summons Russian chargé d’affaires over attack on vessel off Ukrainian coast that killed four Indians | Today’s news
India on Tuesday summoned Russia’s chargé d’affaires after an attack on a vessel off the Ukrainian coast a few days ago led to the death of four Indian sailors.
The PTI news agency, citing sources, said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) told a Russian diplomat that the attack on a merchant ship that killed Indians was unacceptable.
The vessel, identified as the MV Golden Leo, was targeted as it sailed from Ukraine’s southern port of Odesa on July 19. Earlier on Monday, the MEA condemned the attack and said at least four Indian nationals aboard the merchant ship were killed.
MEA remarks after Russian attack kills four Indians
In a post on X, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal shared India’s response to the attacks on the sailors, saying, “On the evening of July 19, 2026, the vessel MV GOLDEN LEO was attacked while departing the port of Odessa. At the time of the incident, 17 crew members, including 5 Indian nationals, were on board.”
The statement further said: “According to available information, four Indian nationals have tragically lost their lives, one is hospitalized in a critical condition. Our mission in Ukraine is closely monitoring the situation and making every effort to provide all possible assistance to those affected. We express our deepest condolences to the families of the deceased Indian nationals and wish the injured Indian national a speedy and complete recovery.”
Jaiswal further noted, “India condemns such attacks and reiterates that targeting commercial shipping and endangering innocent civilian crew members or otherwise restricting freedom of navigation and commerce is deplorable and should be avoided.”
Russia Attacks MV Golden Leo: Here’s What We Know
Russia’s defense ministry said its forces had launched a “massive” attack on what it called military and logistics centers in and around the Ukrainian capital, along with the port of Pivdennyi in the Black Sea region of Odessa, Bloomberg reported.
While India did not provide details of the attack, Ukraine’s port authority noted that at least 10 people were killed after Russia hit a Guinea-Bissau-flagged merchant ship near Odessa.
The first attack on Indian citizens in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict
This is the first time that Indian citizens have been attacked in the Russo-Ukrainian conflict. Earlier, India had raised strong protests against Iran and the United States over the death of more than half a dozen Indian sailors in Iranian and American attacks on merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
This is a developing story. Further details were awaited.
