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, according to the Financial Times, which cited Ukrainian and American officials.
Vance reportedly raised the issue with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a phone call on July 31, asking Kyiv to stop attacks on vessels linked to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), an important route for exporting Kazakh oil. No tanker near the CPC terminal has reportedly been targeted since the conversation.
The Trump administration was concerned that further attacks could disrupt global oil supplies and push up prices, while also affecting US companies with major investments in Kazakhstan's energy sector.
Chevron and ExxonMobil both have interests in the CPC and in oil fields in western Kazakhstan that supply the pipeline. Chevron owns a 50% stake in the Tengiz oil field, the country's largest, while ExxonMobil holds a 25% interest.
A US official told the Financial Times that Washington had asked Kyiv to refrain from targeting non-Russian vessels in the Black Sea as well as CPC infrastructure. The request does not mean Ukraine has ended its maritime campaign altogether.
