Russian Orsk refinery halts operations after Ukrainian drone strike — Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has suspended Ukraine's drone attacks on oil tankers in the Black Sea after US Vice President JD Vance made a request, according to The Financial Times. The US was concerned that the strikes were damaging American companies by targeting tankers carrying crude oil from Kazakhstan to Russia's Novorossiysk port.

US officials say that Vance asked Zelensky to cease the attacks during a call on July 31. Following the call, Ukraine has refrained from attacking non-Russian ships, provided they are not sanctioned by Ukraine or carrying Russian cargo. The Ukrainian government stated that they adjusted their strategy in response to Vance's request.

The drone campaign aimed to weaken the Kremlin's resources and bring more conflict to Russia. The US views the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) as a crucial link for energy supplies from Kazakhstan to European markets, serving as an alternative to Russian energy. US energy corporations Chevron and ExxonMobil have stakes in the CPC.

This is not the first time the US has requested Ukraine to cease striking US industry interests in Russia. In February, the US State Department expressed disapproval of Ukrainian strikes on Novorossiysk. A drone attack on an Exxon- chartered ship in July led Kazakhstan to halt oil shipments to Novorossiysk and doubled shipping rates.

Ukrainian strikes on the CPC terminal disrupted oil markets, prompting Kazakhstan to stop piping oil to the port and increase shipping costs. In a prior meeting, US Vice President Vance expressed dissatisfaction with Zelensky, emphasizing that Ukraine had not sufficiently acknowledged US aid to Ukraine. Zelensky agreed to halt the strikes on the CPC following Vance's request, as Ukraine was seeking to obtain Patriot missile licenses that the US had promised earlier this summer.