India has strongly condemned the deadly missile strike on the commercial vessel MV Golden Leo near Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa, after four Indian crew members were killed and another critically injured in the attack.

The incident, which took place as the ship was leaving the port on Sunday evening, has renewed concerns over the dangers faced by Indian merchant seafarers operating in conflict-hit waters.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the vessel was carrying 17 crew members when it came under attack on July 19.

“As per information available, four Indian nationals have tragically lost their lives, while one is hospitalised in a critical condition,” the ministry said, adding that the Indian embassy in Ukraine was “closely monitoring the situation” and providing assistance to those affected.

The MEA condemned the attack on the vessel and stressed the need to protect civilian crews and maintain freedom of navigation.

“India condemns such attacks” and reiterated “that targeting commercial shipping and endangering innocent civilian crew members, or otherwise impeding freedom of navigation and commerce, is deplorable and should be avoided”.

India did not attribute responsibility for the strike. However, Ukraine's Navy alleged in a Facebook post that Russian forces had carried out the attack. Ukrainian authorities said nine crew members and a Ukrainian maritime pilot were killed, while eight people were rescued.

According to the Ukrainian Navy, the Guinea-Bissau-flagged bulk carrier was struck by three Kh-59/Kh-69 cruise missiles shortly after departing Odesa with a grain shipment. The missiles reportedly hit the starboard side of the vessel's superstructure, triggering a fire on board.

The Ukrainian Navy described the ship as Turkish-owned, while Reuters, citing LSEG shipping data, reported that the vessel was owned by Mumbai-based Ocean Grace Shipping Ltd. Russia's defence ministry, in a post on Telegram on Sunday night, said its forces had struck “two bulk carrier-type vessels” anchored at Odesa port that were “carrying military cargo”.

Ukraine's Minister for Communities and Territories Development, Mykola Kalashnyk, described the incident as an attack on “international civilian shipping” and “another attempt by Moscow to disrupt global food supplies”, according to Kyiv Post. 
The Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office has also launched a war crimes investigation into the incident, the report said.

One of the Indian victims was identified as 26-year-old Akhil Joyan from Vellarikundu village in Kerala's Kasaragod district.

According to The Indian Express, Joyan had worked as a mariner for six years and had returned home only last month, when his family fixed his marriage.

“He was planning to sign off from this ship by the end of this month. He wanted to move to another firm,” a family member told the newspaper.

The attack is believed to be the deadliest incident involving commercial shipping in the Black Sea since violence around the region's ports and maritime routes escalated in recent weeks.

It also marks the first known deaths of Indian merchant seafarers since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and comes months after Indian sailors were killed in attacks on commercial vessels during the US-Iran conflict near the Strait of Hormuz.

The latest deaths add to the toll of Indian nationals lost in the Ukraine conflict, including medical student Naveen Shekharappa Gyanagoudar, who was killed in shelling in Kharkiv in March 2022.

The Indian government also informed the Supreme Court in May that 49 Indian nationals recruited into the Russian military after allegedly being promised support jobs had died in the war.