India confirms death of four of its citizens after Russian attack on ship in Odesa port

India’s Foreign Ministry has confirmed the deaths of four of its citizens in a Russian attack on the merchant ship Golden Leo in the port of Odessa. Another Indian sailor is in critical condition.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs has confirmed the deaths of four of its citizens in a Russian attack on the merchant ship Golden Leo as it left the port of Odesa on the evening of July 19.

There were 17 crew members on board, including five Indian citizens. Four sailors died, another was seriously injured and is in critical condition in hospital.

The ministry said that the Indian Embassy in Ukraine is in contact with local authorities and is providing necessary assistance to the injured sailor.

“India condemns such attacks and stresses that attacks on merchant vessels that endanger civilian crew members or impede freedom of navigation and trade are unacceptable and must be stopped,” the Indian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

India was one of the few countries to publicly condemn the Russian attack in the context of international shipping safety. After the start of the full-scale war, the country remains one of the largest buyers of Russian oil, but in its statement it separately emphasized the inadmissibility of attacks on civilian merchant vessels and their crews.

Earlier it became known that Russia attacked a civilian vessel near Odesa: 10 people were killed.