NEW DELHI, July 21 (Reuters) – India said it had summoned a senior Russian diplomat 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, which killed 10 people including four Indians.
Russia did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for a comment.
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,” the statement 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, writing by Shanima Aniyeri; Editing by YP Rajesh and Michael Perry)
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