Ukraine halts strikes on Russian oil tankers near Baltic Sea after US request - report
Vance reportedly urged Zelensky to spare CPC-linked vessels and infrastructure amid US concerns over oil markets and American energy interests
Ukraine has suspended its campaign of drone strikes against tankers operating near the Russian port of Novorossiysk following a request from US Vice President JD Vance, the Financial Times reports, citing Ukrainian and American officials.
According to the report, Vance asked Ukrainian President Zelensky during a July 31 phone call to halt attacks on vessels linked to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), a key export route for Kazakh oil. No tanker near the CPC terminal has reportedly been targeted since the conversation.
The Trump administration was concerned that continued attacks could further disrupt global oil markets and damage the interests of US companies with major investments in the region.
Chevron and ExxonMobil both hold stakes in the CPC and in oil fields in western Kazakhstan that supply the pipeline. Chevron owns a 50% stake in the Tengiz oil field, Kazakhstan’s largest, while ExxonMobil holds a 25% stake.
A US official told the Financial Times that Washington had asked Kyiv to stop targeting non-Russian vessels in the Black Sea, as well as CPC infrastructure.
Ukraine has not, however, abandoned its maritime operations entirely. According to the report, Kyiv has agreed to avoid targeting CPC facilities and non-Russian vessels that are not under Ukrainian sanctions and are not carrying Russian oil or other Russian goods.
“We are listening very attentively to our American partners,” a senior Ukrainian official told the newspaper, adding that “mechanisms” had been established to implement the request. The CPC issue has been the subject of ongoing discussions between the Ukrainian, US and Kazakh governments, the official said.