Ukraine has stopped its campaign of drone attacks on oil tankers using the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal near Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk following a direct request from US Vice President JD Vance, according to Ukrainian officials and people familiar with the matter.
Vance reportedly raised the issue with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a phone call on 31 July. On 22 July EUalive reported that the Trump administration urged Kyiv to curb attacks on non-Russian ships, according to a White House official, after the barrage of strikes on ships in the waters near the port of Novorossiysk.
U.S. urges Kyiv to halt attacks on non-Russian tankers after Black Sea drone strikes
Since then, no tankers near the CPC terminal have been struck, according to the officials and open-source analysis. Kyiv has agreed not to target CPC infrastructure or non-Russian vessels bound for the terminal, provided the ships are not under Ukrainian sanctions and are not carrying Russian oil or other Russian cargo.
Washington was concerned that the strikes were further destabilising global oil markets and harming US commercial interests. The CPC pipeline transports crude from major Kazakh fields (including Tengiz) to the Black Sea and accounts for roughly 80% of Kazakhstan’s oil exports. US companies Chevron and ExxonMobil hold significant stakes in the fields and the consortium.
A US administration official confirmed that the White House views the CPC as “a vital conduit of Kazakhstan-origin energy for European markets that serves as an alternative to Russian energy supplies.” The official said Washington had reaffirmed Kyiv’s commitment to refrain from attacking the infrastructure and qualifying non-Russian vessels.
The July attacks temporarily suspended loadings, disrupted Kazakh exports, and drew a strong protest from Astana, which described them as an “unacceptable infringement” on Kazakhstan’s economic interests. EUalive.net reported extensively on the US urging of restraint at the time and on the subsequent private understanding reached between senior US and Ukrainian officials.
Despite the heavy reliance of several European countries on CPC Blend crude, neither individual EU member states nor EU institutions publicly reacted to the mid-July strikes. Kazakhstan ranks among the EU’s top three crude suppliers after the United States and Norway, with Italy, the Netherlands, France, Romania and Greece among the largest destinations.
Ukraine has established contact points for commercial shippers to share vessel information and is issuing guidance on which ships may still face risk. A senior Ukrainian official said Kyiv is “listening very carefully” to its American partners and has put mechanisms in place to implement the request.
The understanding does not cover Russian-flagged vessels or those carrying Russian cargo. Also, it is not clear which vessels are exempted from Ukrainian strikes. The Ukrainian list of sanctioned vessels is larger than the EU list, which leaves room for uncertainty.
In the meantime Ukraine hammered Russia’s Black Sea port city of Novorossiysk in a massive drone attack in the night to 12 August which put two major grain terminals out of action, according to Russian industry sources, and which Kyiv said had targeted a naval base there.
Russia is the world’s largest wheat exporter and most of those exports are shipped via its Black Sea ports like Novorossiysk. Russia’s main grain lobby group warned last month that Ukrainian attacks could shut down grain exports via the Black Sea in the near future, pushing up prices and causing hunger in Africa and the Middle East.
Caption: US Vice President JD Vance delivers remarks during the Congressional Tribute for the late South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham in the Rotunda of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, USA, 28 July 2026. Lindsey Graham, Republican senator from South Carolina, died earlier this month following a brief illness at the age of 71. EPA/JIM LO SCALZO / POOL
Updated: August 12, 2026 - 12:51
