Ukraine stopped attacks on tankers using Novorossiysk port at Vance's request
Ukraine scaled back intensive drone attacks on oil tankers using Russia's Novorossiysk port at U.S. Vice President JD Vance's request late last month, the Financial Times reported, citing Ukrainian officials on Aug. 12.
In late August, Ukraine reduced intense drone attacks on oil tankers utilizing Russia's Novorossiysk port, according to the Financial Times, which cited Ukrainian officials. This move came at the request of U.S. Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who expressed concern over Ukraine destabilizing oil markets and negatively impacting U.S. firms.
Ukraine agreed to cease attacking CPC (Caspian Pipeline Consortium) infrastructure and non-Russian vessels, as long as they were not sanctioned by the U.S. and were not carrying Russian oil or cargo.
The suspension of these attacks led to a fifth of CPC's oil export volumes being lost in July due to the Russia-Ukraine war interfering with sales from Kazakhstan and Western oil majors. Kazakhstan, heavily reliant on the CPC route for oil exports, reduced its production by 14% in July compared to June. Chevron and Exxon Mobil, major Western oil companies operating in Kazakhstan, were among those affected.
The U.S. administration had previously warned Ukraine against targeting non-Russian vessels in the Black Sea. On July 25, The Wall Street Journal reported that the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump had also cautioned Ukraine against attacking non-Russian vessels in the region. Chevron CEO Mike Wirth discussed safeguarding Chevron's operations in Kazakhstan with Trump administration officials following Ukrainian strikes on four tankers near Novorossiysk.
Chevron holds a 15% stake in the CPC, which transports oil from Kazakhstan's vast oil and gas fields to Russia and then to the Black Sea.
Written by urgent.news from New Voice of Ukraine's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
