In a strong diplomatic pushback, India has officially rejected Russia’s assertion that the merchant vessel MV Golden Leo was transporting military equipment when it came under a lethal strike off the coast of Ukraine. The commercial vessel was carrying only agricultural cargo, namely grain when it was targeted and four Indian seafarers were killed.
A Guinea-Bissau-flagged bulk carrier MV Golden Leo left Ukraine's strategic Odesa port on July 19 after loading grain. The ship was destroyed in a missile attack shortly after leaving and marks the first time Indian nationals have been killed in maritime conflict since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war.
MEA spokesman Randhir Jaiswal also replied to media questions saying that verified details provided by Directorate General of Maritime Administration of India completely contradicted Moscow's narrative.
"Based on the information that was made available to us by the Director General of Maritime Administration of our country, this particular ship, Golden Leo, on which we lost four of our nationals, loaded grain as cargo before leaving the port of Odesa, and this happened on the 19th of July,” Jaiswal said.
Out of 17 crew members, including five Indian nationals, four Indians were killed and another was critically injured.
Diplomatic Outreach and stance on Commercial Shipping.
After the attack, New Delhi summoned Russian Charge d’Affaires Vladimir Ladanov to lodge a formal diplomatic protest, calling the attack on a commercial civilian vessel “unacceptable”. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had also raised India’s concerns in high-level talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Manila and the ASEAN Regional Forum meetings.
Earlier, the Kremlin had defended its position in the Black Sea corridor with its spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying that Russian forces would continue to target vessels with weapons and ammunition for Ukraine. No concrete evidence was provided about the MV Golden Leo.
Reaffirming India’s unwavering stance on maritime security, Jaiswal said international law must protect neutral parties.
"We once again reiterate that commercial shipping and seafarers should not be attacked under any circumstances."
As geopolitical tensions rise and the Black Sea agricultural export arteries are increasingly threatened, India must stand up and say its position to protect civilian workers in the region must be very clear.
