MEA summons Ukraine ambassador after attack on ship with 4 Indians onboard

NEW DELHI: The ministry of external Affairs (MEA) on Monday summoned Ukraine’s ambassador Dr Oleksandr Polishchuk following an attack on a merchant vessel near the Ukrainian port of Odesa that had 4 Indian nationals on board.The diplomatic move comes a day after the vessel was struck amid the worsening security situation in the Black Sea.“Today, the ambassador of Ukraine to India, Dr Oleksandr Polishchuk, was summoned to the ministry of external affairs in connection with the attack on the commercial vessel MV OMORFI, which resulted in the tragic death of an Indian national,” the MEA said in a statement.“The ministry conveyed its serious concern over the incident and condemned such attacks on commercial shipping in the strongest terms, underscoring their adverse impact on the safety of maritime navigation, freedom of navigation, and international commerce,” it added.“The ambassador was requested to convey to the Ukrainian authorities India’s strong concerns over the targeting of commercial vessels and reiterated that such actions, which endanger the lives of innocent civilian seafarers, are unacceptable and must be avoided,” it said.According to the Indian embassy in Ukraine, two of the four Indian crew members are safe, while information about the remaining two is still awaited.The latest incident follows another deadly attack earlier this month.On July 19, four Indian nationals were killed and one was critically injured when the merchant vessel MV Golden Leo came under attack while departing from Odesa.Amid India’s strong response, the Ukrainian embassy in New Delhi said foreign minister Andrii Sybiha has written to external affairs minister S Jaishankar expressing condolences over the deaths of Indian seafarers.In a statement, the embassy conveyed “profound sympathy” to the families of the deceased, attributing the tragedy to the deteriorating security situation in the Black Sea.“We hope that, following the relevant proposal made by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, a conversation between the foreign ministers of our two countries will take place in the nearest future to discuss in detail the current security situation in the Black Sea region,” the statement said.The Ukrainian side also expressed hope that Sybiha and Jaishankar would speak soon to discuss the evolving security situation in the region.