India summons Russia envoy as four nationals killed in attack on ship in Ukraine

New Delhi: India summoned Russia’s top envoy in New Delhi on Tuesday to protest against an attack on a cargo ship leaving Ukraine’s port of Odesa that killed four Indian nationals, and another was critically injured.

The Indian foreign ministry said it had summoned Vladimir Ladanov, the Russian charge d’affaires, to convey “grave concerns” and “unequivocal condemnation” of the attack on commercial vessel MV Golden Leo on Sunday.

The ship had five Indians on board, four of whom were killed, it said.

“Such attacks undermine the safety, security, and stability of international maritime commerce,” the ministry said in a statement.

The Russian envoy was also asked to convey to Moscow “that the targeting of commercial shipping and the resulting loss of innocent civilian lives are unacceptable and must be avoided”, it added.

Ukraine’s navy said on Sunday that Russian missile strikes had hit the Golden Leo, a Turkish-owned, Guinea-Bissau-flagged cargo ship carrying grain.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said the crew had included citizens of Syria and India.

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“A Ukrainian maritime pilot was killed, as well as four crew members, eight crew members were evacuated and five still remain missing,” he said.

India is one of the largest contributors of sailors to merchant shipping worldwide, with more than 320,000 active seafarers in 2025, according to the country’s shipping ministry.

Last week, India urged local shipowners and firms that recruit sailors not to deploy seafarers on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, as fighting between the United States and Iran intensified.

The directive came after at least two Indian sailors were killed in attacks on commercial vessels a week earlier.

Russia and India consider each other “time-tested” friends with ties dating back to the Soviet era, but their relationship has come under significant pressure since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.