India lodges ‘strong concerns’ with Russia over Golden Leo attack killing 4 Indian nationals in Black Sea

India on Tuesday lodged ‘strong’ protest with Russia over reported strike on commercial ship MV Golden Leo in the Black Sea off Ukraine coast, killing four Indian nationals and leaving another wounded. India registered its protest to Russian Charge d'Affaires (CDA) Vladimir Ladanov, who had been summoned by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) over the matter.

A reported Russian attack on Monday killed four Indian sailors who were part of the crew on a Guinea Bissau-flagged commercial ship off the coast of Ukraine. The ship, MV Golden Leo, had a 17-member crew, five of whom were Indian. Ten crew members were killed in the attack.

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The MEA said, "The Russian Charge d’Affaires, Vladimir Ladanov, was summoned to the Ministry of External Affairs. The ministry conveyed India's grave concerns and unequivocal condemnation of the attack on the commercial vessel MV Golden Leo on 19 July 2026, which resulted in the tragic loss of four Indian lives, emphasizing that such attacks undermine the safety, security, and stability of international maritime commerce."

"The Russian Chargé d’Affaires was requested to convey India’s strong concerns to his authorities that the targeting of commercial shipping and the resulting loss of innocent civilian lives are unacceptable and must be avoided," the ministry said.

Not the first non-military target in Russia-Ukraine war

Since the beginning of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia has faced the allegation of targeting non-combatants establishments, such as apartment buildings, electricity infrastructure, hospitals, and commercial ships almost every day in a bid to raise the socioeconomic pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to accept Kremlin's maximalist terms.

Russia, on its part, has also accused Ukraine of targeting civilian sites on its territories, including capital Moscow. Ukraine has hit Russian cities with drone swarms.

India condemns attacks on commercial ships

Earlier, the MEA on Monday extended "deepest condolences" to the families of the deceased sailors and condemned the attack without mentioning Russia or blaming the attacker by name.

"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," the MEA said.

The Russian killing of Indian sailors are the latest episode of Indian sailors being killed in conflicts around the world. In recent months, the United States and Iran have killed Indian sailors in the Persian Gulf in several waves of attacks.

India has previously summoned American and Iranian diplomats in recent months over their countries' lethal attacks on Indian sailors, but these countries' attacks on ships in the international waters have continued. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told his Indian counterpart, S Jaishankar, that the US military would continue striking ships at will in the Indian waters irrespective of Indian sailors not being party to the conflict.

"The Secretary stressed that all commercial vessels should immediately comply with orders from US forces as they seek to uphold peace and security in the Strait. He underscored that violations of the U.S. blockade and the illicit transport of Iranian oil will not be tolerated," the Department of State said in a readout of the Rubio-Jaishankar call on June 12 after the US Navy killed three Indian sailors in the Persian Gulf.