New Delhi (Gurpreet Singh): India has virtually rejected Moscow’s assertion that a merchant vessel recently attacked off the coast of Ukraine was transporting military hardware, confirming instead that the ship was carrying grain. Addressing a regular media briefing, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that information provided by the Directorate General of Maritime Administration confirmed the Guinea-Bissau-flagged vessel, MV Golden Leo, had loaded grain cargo prior to its departure from Odesa port on July 19.
The official response follows New Delhi’s decision to summon Russian Charge d’affaires Vladimir Ladanov to express grave concerns and lodge an unequivocal condemnation over the incident. The missile strike resulted in ten fatalities, including four Indian nationals, marking the first recorded deaths of Indian seafarers in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had previously defended strikes on maritime traffic by claiming target vessels were transporting armaments intended for Ukrainian forces.
Reiterating New Delhi’s firm diplomatic stance, Jaiswal emphasized that commercial shipping and civilian seafarers must not be targeted under any circumstances. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar directly conveyed this position to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a bilateral meeting in Manila. The statement comes amid heightened safety concerns for merchant crews following a separate subsequent attack in the Black Sea that claimed the life of another Indian sailor.
