4 min readNew DelhiJul 30, 2026 10:29 PM IST
In the wake of a merchant vessel carrying 13 Indian seafarers being stuck near Ukraine’s Black Sea coast, and with continuous attacks on cargo ships in Black Sea, killing several Indians, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha and took stock of the situation.
Over the past two weeks, several Indian seafarers have lost their lives or are missing after the ships came under attack from both Russian as well as Ukrainian sides in the Black Sea. Jaishankar also conveyed to Sybiha New Delhi’s condemnation of such attacks by any side involved in the conflict, calling them unacceptable.
“Glad to connect again with FM Andrii Sybiha of Ukraine, after our respective travels,” the minister said, adding, “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.”
In a post on X, he also said that during the conversation, he was “briefed on recent developments pertaining to the Ukraine conflict and peace negotiations”. India has consistently advocated dialogue and diplomacy between the parties concerned, Jaishankar said.
On Wednesday, the Indian Embassy in Ukraine said it was closely monitoring the situation involving a merchant vessel following reports that it was under threat from repeated drone and missile attacks. The embassy said it was in constant touch with all concerned authorities to ensure the safety and security of the Indian crew onboard MV AMIR1.
On July 18, an Indian seafarer was killed in an attack on a ship while it was reportedly transiting Russian territorial waters in the Black Sea. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had later summoned Ukrainian Ambassador Oleksandr Polishchuk and conveyed its strong concern over the targeting of a ship transiting Russian territorial waters.
Earlier, on July 21, India had summoned the Russian Charge d’Affaires, Vladimir Ladanov, to convey New Delhi’s “unequivocal condemnation” and “grave concern” over the deaths of four Indian seafarers in the Russian missile strike on merchant vessel MV Golden Leo on July 19 off the coast of Ukraine, which killed four Indians.
Story continues below this ad
India has consistently emphasised that commercial shipping, seafarers, civilians and civilian infrastructure must not be targeted under any circumstances and has called for the Russia-Ukraine conflict to be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy.
Meanwhile, in his conversation with Sybiha on Thursday evening, Jaishankar also “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,” said the minister, who had earlier in the day attended a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the West Asia crisis.
In their statement on the Jaishankar-Sybiha call, Kyiv on Thursday said that they have pitched for India to play an “active role” in ending its conflict with Russia. In a social media post, the Ukrainian foreign minister said he had a “good” conversation with Jaishankar and that he briefed his Indian counterpart about President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s recent visit to Washington DC.
Story continues below this ad
Sybiha said he also conveyed to Jaishankar the “consequences of Russian aggression” far beyond Ukraine’s borders. “By attacking civilian vessels in the Black Sea, Russia undermines freedom of navigation and puts global food security at risk. At the same time, its continued war fuels instability in global energy markets, affecting countries far beyond our region,” he alleged.
“I reaffirmed Ukraine’s commitment to achieving a comprehensive and lasting peace and encouraged India to play an active role in peace efforts. We agreed to remain in close contact,” the Ukrainian foreign minister said.