New Delhi: Six days after it summoned Russia’s chargé d’affaires over a Black Sea strike that killed four Indian seafarers, the Ministry of External Affairs on July 27 called in Ukraine’s ambassador over a separate attack in the same waters, on a commercial vessel, in which a fifth Indian mariner was killed.Monday’s summons makes Ukraine the fourth foreign mission called in by India this year over attacks on commercial vessels carrying Indian seafarers, and the second in which the ambassador was called in. Russia’s chargé d’affaires Vladimir Ladanov was summoned on July 21 after the Golden Leo strike, and the US embassy’s chargé d’affaires was called in twice over American attacks on merchant ships in the Gulf of Oman, including the strike on MT Settebello in which three Indian sailors were killed. Iran’s ambassador was summoned earlier this year, and the Iranian embassy’s deputy chief of mission last week, after attacks in the Strait of Hormuz.In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Ukraine’s ambassador, Oleksandr Polishchuk, was called to South Block in connection with the July 18 attack on the commercial vessel MV Omorfi, which resulted in the death of an Indian national.“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,” the statement said.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 added.Ukraine foreign ministry’s statementThe Omorfi was attacked on July 18 while transiting the Black Sea, reportedly within Russian territorial waters, killing one of the three Indian nationals among its ten crew members. In its earlier statement on the incident, the ministry had not identified those responsible. The Forward Seamen’s Union of India named the deceased seafarer as Chief Officer Sagar Gupta in a social media post and described the strike as a “Ukrainian drone attack”.That attack fell on the same day that Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces announced its drones had struck 13 vessels linked to Russia’s “shadow fleet” in the Black and Azov seas under ‘Operation Molochka’. The list of vessels put out by the unit’s commander, Robert “Madyar” Brovdi, comprising eight dry cargo ships, an oil tanker, a gas carrier, a tugboat and two floating cranes, did not name the Omorfi.Meanwhile, two more Indian crew members have been missing since Saturday, when the freighter MV AGN Ragnar was struck at the port of Odesa, according to the Indian embassy in Kyiv. Four Indians were on board, of whom two have been confirmed safe, the mission said on Sunday, adding that search and rescue operations were underway.The Forward Seamen’s Union of India identified the two missing men as Chandra Ram Dubey and Deepak Kumar Gupta. Blaming a Russian drone attack, the union said the ship had nine crew aboard, four of them Indian, and was hit while departing Ukrainian waters with a pilot on board.Hours earlier on July 27, the Ukrainian embassy in New Delhi had issued a press release saying Kyiv repeatedly cautioned senior Indian officials over the course of the war about mounting dangers to civilian shipping in the Black Sea, and that its foreign minister has proposed a conversation with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on the security situation in the region.Drawing attention to a statement published by Ukraine’s foreign ministry on July 24 on threats to foreign vessels heading to and from Russian ports, the embassy said Russian attacks in the Black Sea during 2025 and 2026 had caused numerous civilian casualties among seafarers, maritime pilots and crew of merchant vessels, including in strikes on port infrastructure and on ships using Ukraine’s maritime export corridor.“Throughout the war, Ukraine has consistently warned its international partners, including senior Indian officials, about the growing threats to civilian navigation arising from Russia’s actions in the Black Sea,” the embassy stated.It added that Kyiv had also informed its partners about “the measures it is taking to prevent the delivery of military cargo and disrupt logistical routes used to sustain Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine”.Those concerns had additionally been communicated formally within the framework of the International Maritime Organization, including through IMO circular letters dated June 12 and June 26 this year, the embassy noted.The mission also took note of Circular 41 issued by the Directorate General of Maritime Administration on July 23, which carried a maritime security advisory for Indian ships and foreign-flagged vessels with Indian seafarers transiting or operating in the Black Sea. “Timely and preventive action by competent authorities” was vital to protecting seafarers and ensuring the safety of civilian navigation in regions where threats had been clearly identified, it maintained.Risks to civilian navigation arising from what it termed Russia’s aggressive actions in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov could be minimised through an immediate response to any preventive warnings about the security situation, the embassy argued.‘Conversation between the foreign ministers of our two countries’A letter of condolence has been addressed by Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha to Jaishankar, according to the release, which added that the embassy extended its “profound sympathy to the families of the Indian seafarers who lost their lives as a result of 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 read.Maritime security could be restored sustainably only by increasing international pressure on Russia to halt its attacks on civilian shipping, the embassy asserted. The release made no reference to the Omorfi.Four Indian seafarers were killed and another critically injured a day after the Omorfi attack, on July 19, when the bulk carrier MV Golden Leo was struck shortly after departing Odesa with a cargo of grain. Ukraine’s Navy blamed Russian forces, saying the Guinea-Bissau-flagged vessel was hit by three Kh-59/Kh-69 cruise missiles. The Russian defence ministry, for its part, stated that it had attacked two bulk carriers anchored at Odesa port that it claimed were carrying military cargo. Ladanov was summoned to the MEA on July 21 over that attack.With the Golden Leo and Omorfi deaths, the toll of Indian merchant seafarers killed in the Ukraine war stands at five, with two more missing after the AGN Ragnar strike.The MEA on Sunday advised Indian nationals to carefully assess the security risks before accepting assignments on commercial vessels operating in or transiting the region. At least 13 Indian seafarers have died this year in attacks on commercial vessels during the US-Iran conflict around the Strait of Hormuz.