Four Indian Sailors Killed in Russian Attack on Ship Near Odesa

India called in Russia's top diplomat on Tuesday to convey New Delhi's "unequivocal condemnation" of a Russian attack on a vessel departing the Ukrainian port of Odesa that killed four Indian sailors and left another critically injured in the hospital.

Russian Chargé d'Affaires Vladimir Ladanov "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 of External Affairs said in a statement.

The vessel, MV Golden Leo, carrying a crew of 17, including the five Indian nationals, was struck Sunday evening. The ministry said a day earlier that it was making every effort to extend all possible assistance to those affected and offered condolences to the families of the deceased.

While the ministry didn't provide details of the attack, Ukraine's port authority said 10 people were killed when Russia struck a Guinea-Bissau-flagged merchant ship near Odesa.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, its forces launched a "massive" attack on what it described as military and logistical centers in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and surrounding area, as well as the Pivdennyi port in the Black Sea region of Odesa.

Russia and Ukraine traded heavy air fire over the weekend, with Ukrainian forces on Saturday hitting warehouses operated by one of Russia's largest e-commerce marketplaces. Kyiv has been carrying out almost daily strikes on Russian energy assets in an effort to disrupt Moscow's war effort and bring the Kremlin to the negotiating table.

The deaths come after multiple Indian sailors were killed in a spate of strikes on ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz during the US-Iran war.

India has had close ties with Russia dating back to the Soviet period and has stood out among major democracies for its reluctance to criticize Russian President Vladimir Putin. New Delhi has abstained from United Nations votes condemning his war in Ukraine and has also refused to participate in punitive measures against Russia.

But the foreign ministry condemned the attack in Odesa, reiterating that targeting commercial shipping and endangering civilian crew members was a "deplorable" act.

There are more than 310,000 Indian seafarers on merchant ships, making the country the second-largest supplier of sailors, according to an estimate from BIMCO, a trade association, and the International Chamber of Shipping.