New Delhi: Ukraine has deleted its statement sharply critical of India’s advisory on sailors in the Black Sea, following a call between External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha late Thursday evening.
Ukraine’s embassy in India had issued a statement Wednesday saying its request for a call between the two foreign ministers on the Black Sea situation remained “unanswered”. The statement further highlighted India’s differing advisories to seafarers in the Strait of Hormuz and the Black Sea, as shipping companies were advised to not deploy Indian nationals on ships transiting through the international waterway in West Asia.
However, the advisory issued on the Black Sea urged sailors to “exercise the highest degree of caution while operating in the Black Sea”.
The statement was issued days after Ukrainian Ambassador to India Oleksandr Polishchuk was summoned by India following the death of an Indian national on the vessel MV OMORFI, which was struck by Ukraine.
Jaishankar and Sybiha spoke late Thursday evening. The Indian foreign minister condemned the attacks on civilian merchant vessels and informed his Ukrainian counterpart that attacks on such vessels, “by any party are absolutely unacceptable”.
“Underlined the fragility of the current international situation, with multiple conflicts in different geographies. These are impacting fuel, fertilizer and food security, especially for the Global South,” Jaishankar said in a statement on the micro-blogging platform X.
Jaishankar reiterated the need to solve the war through “dialogue and diplomacy”. Sybiha said that he “stressed the consequences of Russian aggression extend far beyond Ukraine’s border”.
The security situation in the Black Sea has worsened in the last few months as both countries have sought to degrade the capability to carry out international trade.
Russia has hit Ukrainian port facilities, especially the city of Odesa in recent weeks, with Ukrainian authorities highlighting that at least 21 people have been killed in the region as a result of the strikes. Kyiv has retaliated by disrupting Russia’s fleet of oil tankers and cargo vessels.
On 18 July, Ukraine’s strikes on MV OMORFI left one Indian dead. A day later, Russia struck MV GOLDEN LEO, killing four Indian seafarers. India summoned Russian Chargé d’Affaires Vladimir Ladanov last week to protest the strike on the GOLDEN LEO. After India confirmed the strike on the OMORFI, Polishchuk was summoned by the Ministry of External Affairs Monday.
Two Indians remain missing after MV AGN RAGNAR was hit last week near the port of Odesa. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal confirmed at the regular bi-weekly press briefing Friday that both Ukrainian and Romanian authorities are carrying out searches for the two missing sailors.
India has consistently lodged strong protests against all countries who have struck civilian ships. It has summoned the American Chargé d’Affaires twice and the Iranian Ambassador following strikes on merchant vessels in the Strait of Hormuz during the ongoing war.
The latest flash point in the Black Sea has disrupted Ukraine’s exports through the corridor it had painstakingly established in 2023. The Black Sea corridor unilaterally established by Kyiv, allowed the country to export its grain and other goods through the port of Odesa, with ships hugging the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria before exiting into the larger Mediterranean.
Both sides have intensified attacks in recent months. The almost half decade-long war has seen expanded strikes with Ukraine able to hit refineries deep inside Russian territory.
India has continued its purchases of Russian oil, which has once again come under the scanner, with the US Senate pushing forward a bill earlier this week to allow President Donald J. Trump to impose up to 100 percent tariffs on the top five purchasers of goods from Moscow.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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