New Delhi: India has reiterated that attacks on commercial shipping in the Black Sea are “absolutely unacceptable” regardless of who carries them out, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar told his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha in a telephone conversation on Thursday (July 30), even as Kyiv publicly attributed the attacks to Russia and renewed its call for India to play a larger role in efforts to end the war.The call came after a series of attacks on merchant vessels in the Black Sea this month left at least five Indian seafarers dead, prompting India to summon both the Russian and Ukrainian diplomatic missions in New Delhi. It also triggered an unusually public campaign by Kyiv for ministerial-level engagement on the deteriorating security situation in the Black Sea.In a post on X after their telephone conversation on Thursday night, Jaishankar said the ministers had discussed “attacks on commercial shipping and Indian seafarers in the Black Sea”.“Such attacks by any party are absolutely unacceptable and India condemns them unequivocally,” he wrote.Jaishankar added that he had been briefed on recent developments relating to the Ukraine conflict and peace negotiations and reiterated that India had “consistently advocated dialogue and diplomacy between the parties concerned”.He also highlighted the “fragility of the current international situation”, saying multiple conflicts across different regions were affecting fuel, fertiliser and food security, “especially for the Global South”.Sybiha’s account of the conversation differed in emphasis. The Ukrainian foreign minister stressed that “the consequences of Russian aggression extend far beyond Ukraine’s borders”.He stated Russian attacks on civilian vessels in the Black Sea undermined freedom of navigation and threatened global food and energy security, adding that he had encouraged India to play “an active role in peace efforts” while reaffirming Ukraine’s commitment to achieving a “comprehensive and lasting peace.”The conversation follows a fortnight in which India lodged diplomatic protests with both Moscow and Kyiv over separate attacks on commercial vessels carrying Indian crews.On July 21, the Ministry of External Affairs summoned Russian chargé d’affaires Vladimir Ladanov after the July 19 strike on the bulk carrier MV Golden Leo, which killed four Indian seafarers and critically injured another shortly after the vessel departed Odesa carrying grain.India conveyed its “grave concerns” and “unequivocal condemnation” of the attack, saying the targeting of commercial shipping and the resulting loss of innocent civilian lives were “unacceptable and must be avoided.”Six days later, Ukraine’s ambassador to India, Oleksandr Polishchuk, was summoned over the July 18 attack on MV Omorfi, in which Indian chief officer Sagar Gupta was killed.The MEA again condemned attacks on commercial shipping, saying they adversely affected maritime safety, freedom of navigation and international commerce, and asked the ambassador to convey India’s “strong concerns” to Kyiv.The five deaths have made the Black Sea the second major conflict zone this year to claim the lives of Indian merchant seafarers, after attacks during the US-Iran conflict around the Strait of Hormuz killed at least 13 Indians serving aboard commercial vessels.Two Indian crew members also remain missing after MV AGN Ragnar was struck at Odesa port on July 25.The ministerial conversation also came after Ukraine had publicly sought direct engagement with New Delhi.Hours before that summons on July 27, the Ukrainian embassy had issued a press release saying that Sybiha had written a letter of condolence to Jaishankar and that he had proposed a conversation with the external affairs minister on the security situation in the region. “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 embassy had stated.By Wednesday, the mission was saying that the proposal had drawn no response. “We regret that our request to arrange a telephone conversation between Ukraine’s Foreign Minister and India’s External Affairs Minister on security in the Black Sea remains unanswered,” it wrote in a post on X on July 29.That post also said 13 Indian seafarers remained stranded aboard the MV AMIR1 at the port of Chornomorsk “under the continuing threat of Russian missile and drone attacks”, and asserted that “Russia’s actions have already caused deaths and injuries among Indian seafarers in the Black Sea”. Ukrainian authorities were providing “all possible assistance” and remained in close contact with the Indian embassy in Ukraine on the affected seafarers, the mission maintained.The embassy went on in the same post to call for “a closer comparison of the two security advisories issued by @dgshipping_IN India’s Directorate General of Maritime Administration regarding the Strait of Hormuz on 15 July 2026 and the Black Sea on 23 July 2026”, arguing that such a comparison raised “serious questions” as to whether the measures recommended for the Black Sea matched the level of risk faced by Indian seafarers.It also put a direct question to the Indian government over the Golden Leo strike. “As Russian attacks continue to endanger Indian seafarers, will MEA summon the Russian representative once again for further explanations?” the embassy asked.Those posts were later deleted before both Jaishankar and Sybiha confirmed on Thursday that the conversation had taken place. The embassy has not said why the posts were taken down.Ambassador Polishchuk subsequently told ANI that Ukraine had consistently raised concerns about maritime security since the beginning of the war and welcomed India’s calls for respect for international law and the protection of civilians. He also said India, given its relationship with Russia, could help bring Moscow to the negotiating table.Incidentally, Jaishankar explicitly noted in his tweet that both ministers connected “after our respective travels”.