US Vice President JD Vance has expressed dissatisfaction with attacks on tankers carrying Kazakh oil and has called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to cease the strikes, according to infohub.kz.
According to the Financial Times, Vance urged Ukraine to stop strikes on vessels that load Kazakh oil at the port of Novorossiysk. Sources say Ukraine halted its intense drone campaign against oil tankers using this critical Black Sea port after a request from the US vice president.
Ukrainian officials told the publication that Washington was concerned about potential destabilization of oil markets and harm to American companies. The strikes targeted tankers carrying crude oil via pipeline from Kazakhstan to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal in Novorossiysk. Vance asked Zelensky to stop the attacks during a phone call on July 31.
Since then, according to the Financial Times and open-source analysis, Ukraine has not struck tankers near the CPC terminal. Additionally, the parties reached an agreement: Ukraine will not attack CPC infrastructure or vessels not owned by Russia, unless they are under Ukrainian sanctions or carrying Russian oil or other cargo from Russia.
A senior Ukrainian official said: "We listen very carefully to our American partners. The CPC has regularly engaged in discussions with the US and Kazakh governments." A US official confirmed that the administration warned Ukraine to stop shelling non-Russian vessels in the Black Sea and CPC infrastructure. The official added: "The administration views the CPC as a vital channel for delivering Kazakh-origin energy to European markets, serving as an alternative to Russian energy."