WASHINGTON — U.S. Vice President JD Vance has urged Ukraine to stop attacking non-Russian oil tankers and infrastructure linked to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) at Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, amid U.S. concerns that the strikes could disrupt global oil markets and affect American energy companies, according to U.S. and Ukrainian officials cited by Reuters and the Financial Times.
The request was made during a July 31 call between Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, according to the Financial Times. Ukraine has since paused drone strikes against tankers using the Novorossiysk port, Reuters reported, citing the FT and Ukrainian officials.
A U.S. official told Reuters that the Trump administration had warned Kyiv to “cease and desist” from targeting non-Russian vessels in the Black Sea and CPC infrastructure. Washington considers the consortium an important alternative to Russian energy supplies, the official said.
The U.S. government has also confirmed that Ukraine committed to refraining from attacks on CPC facilities and non-Russian vessels bound for the CPC oil terminal, provided those ships are not under Ukrainian sanctions, according to the U.S. official.
The CPC transports crude from landlocked Kazakhstan to a marine terminal at Novorossiysk, where it is loaded for export. Major Western energy companies, including Chevron and Exxon Mobil, have significant interests in Kazakhstan’s oil industry and the export route.
The U.S. intervention followed a series of Ukrainian drone attacks targeting Russian energy infrastructure and maritime assets around Novorossiysk. Kyiv has said its broader campaign against Russian energy facilities is intended to reduce resources available to Moscow for its war effort.
The attacks have also affected Kazakhstan’s oil exports. Reuters reported that Black Sea drone strikes reduced CPC oil loadings by as much as one-fifth in July, according to four sources familiar with the data. Kazakhstan’s oil production fell about 14% in July from June, the sources said.
Reuters said the U.S. State Department and Vance’s office had not immediately responded to requests for comment on the reported request, while Reuters could not independently verify all details of the Financial Times report.
Ukraine has continued military operations against Russian targets in and around Novorossiysk, while refraining from strikes covered by the reported commitment concerning non-Russian vessels and CPC infrastructure.
