India on Monday (July 20, 2026) condemned the attack on a merchant vessel near the Ukrainian port of Odessa on Sunday that left four Indian sailors dead and one critically injured.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) reiterated India’s opposition to attacks on merchant vessels as such incidents violate the freedom of navigation. The Acting Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Andrii Sybiha, has blamed Russia for the attack and said five crew members of the ship remain missing.
“On the evening of 19 July 2026, the vessel MV Golden Leo was attacked while departing the port of Odessa. At the time of the incident, there were 17 crew members on board, including five Indian nationals. As per information available, four Indian nationals have tragically lost their lives, while one is hospitalised in a critical condition,” said the MEA in its statement.
The incident near Odessa, Ukraine’s largest sea port in the Black Sea, is the first instance of Indian seafarers being killed in the Russia-Ukraine war that started in February 2022.
“India condemns such attacks and reiterates that targeting commercial shipping and endangering innocent civilian crew members, or otherwise impeding freedom of navigation and commerce is deplorable and should be avoided,” said the MEA in its statement.
The incident comes amid the death of several Indian seafarers in the continuing attacks by the U.S. and Iran on commercial vessels in the Gulf.
The Ukraine’s Acting Foreign Minister said the attack was not an isolated incident. “Russia has now struck a civilian vessel navigating Ukraine’s maritime corridor. The crew included citizens of Syria and India. A Ukrainian maritime pilot was killed,” said Mr. Sybiha. He said Russia attacked another merchant vessel with the flag of Antigua and Barbuda in the Black Sea on Saturday.
Mr. Sybiha said Ukraine has informed the International Maritime Organization and Ukraine’s international partners “about Russia’s latest attacks on civilian shipping, as well as the governments of the states whose citizens were killed or injured”.
Maritime Trade News has reported that Golden Leo was carrying a crew of 17 Syrian and Indian nationals and that at least 10 sailors were killed in the attack. The Russian authorities are yet to comment on the incident.
Published - July 20, 2026 09:28 pm IST