India summons senior Russian diplomat over deaths of four Indians on ship in Black Sea

NEW DELHI, July 21 (Reuters) – India said it had summoned a senior Russian diplomat on Tuesday and expressed “grave concerns” after a missile strike killed four Indians on a Black Sea cargo ship that was leaving a Ukrainian port.

Ukraine said Russia hit the Golden Leo – a Guinea-Bissau-flagged ship manned by a crew from India and Syria – with three cruise missiles on Sunday, killing 10 people, including four Indians.

Vladimir Ladanov, Russian chargé d’affaires, was summoned to India’s Ministry of External Affairs, a statement from the ministry said on Tuesday.

Ladanov was asked to convey India’s strong concerns and told that the targeting of commercial shipping and the resulting loss of civilian lives was “unacceptable”, the statement said. 

“Such attacks undermine the safety, security, and stability of international maritime commerce,” it said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Moscow was in touch with India on the matter.

“We are explaining our position. Most importantly, our armed forces are striking – and will continue to strike – vessels involved in transporting ammunition, weapons, and so on for the purposes of the Kyiv regime,” Peskov said.

The Golden Leo is owned by Mumbai-based Ocean Grace Shipping Ltd, according to LSEG data.

India has also lost seafarers in the Iran war, and protested to both the United States and Iran over the losses. 

(Reporting by Saurabh Sharma in New Delhi and Dmitry Antonov in Moscow, writing by Shanima Aniyeri; Editing by YP Rajesh, Michael Perry and Gareth Jones)