India summons Ukraine envoy over Black Sea ship attack that killed Indian national
New Delhi condemned the attack on a commercial vessel transiting the Black Sea and urged Ukraine to avoid actions that endanger civilian seafarers.
India today (27 July) summoned Ukraine's Ambassador to New Delhi, Oleksandr Polishchuk, over an attack on a commercial vessel in the Black Sea that killed an Indian national.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the commercial ship, MV OMORFI, was attacked on 18 July while transiting the Black Sea, reportedly in Russian territorial waters. Ten crew members, including three Indian nationals, were on board at the time.
One Indian national was killed in the attack, while the other two Indians aboard the vessel were reported safe, according to the MEA.
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Polishchuk was called to the MEA, where India conveyed its serious concern over the incident and condemned attacks on commercial shipping "in the strongest terms".
In a statement, the ministry said India underscored the incident's "adverse impact on the safety of maritime navigation, freedom of navigation and international commerce".
The Ukrainian ambassador was requested to convey India's strong concerns to the Ukrainian authorities over the targeting of commercial vessels. New Delhi reiterated that actions endangering the lives of innocent civilian seafarers are unacceptable and must be avoided.
The envoy was summoned a day after the MEA publicly disclosed details of the attack.
A few days earlier, India had issued an advisory urging its nationals intending to take up employment on commercial vessels operating in or transiting conflict-affected areas in and around the Black Sea to carefully assess the prevailing security risks before accepting such assignments.
The MEA said the security situation in and around the Black Sea and adjoining maritime areas remains highly volatile due to the ongoing conflict. Commercial vessels operating in or transiting these waters continue to face significant threats, including missile and drone attacks.
Since April this year, attacks on commercial vessels in the region have increased, resulting in the deaths of five Indian nationals, the ministry added.
