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US Vice President JD Vance asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a phone call on July 31 to stop drone attacks on oil tankers entering the Russian port of Novorossiysk, the Financial Times reported, citing Ukrainian officials and other sources.
According to the newspaper, Washington was concerned that such attacks could affect oil markets and harm the interests of US companies. The vessels in question transport oil from Kazakhstan that is delivered by pipeline to the terminal of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC).
Based on statements by officials and an analysis of publicly available information, Ukraine has not carried out strikes against tankers near the CPC terminal since Vance’s conversation with Zelensky.
According to the FT, Kyiv agreed not to attack CPC infrastructure or non-Russian vessels in the Black Sea, provided that they are not under Ukrainian sanctions and are not carrying Russian oil or other Russian cargo.
“We listen very carefully to our American partners,” a senior Ukrainian official said. According to the official, Kyiv established mechanisms in response to Washington’s request. The official also said that the security of the CPC had been regularly discussed during negotiations with the governments of the United States and Kazakhstan.
US companies’ interests
Chevron and ExxonMobil hold stakes in the CPC, the main export route for Kazakh oil, and are also involved in oil fields in western Kazakhstan that supply this export route.
Chevron owns a 50% stake in Kazakhstan’s largest oil field, Tengiz, while ExxonMobil holds a 25% stake.
A US official said the administration of Donald Trump views the CPC as an important route for delivering Kazakh energy resources to European markets, providing an alternative to energy supplies from Russia.
According to Kpler data, the CPC shipped around 1.3 million barrels of oil per day in July. That was more than 300,000 barrels per day below the previous month’s level and 600,000 barrels per day below the figure recorded in May.
Representatives of Vance, the Zelensky administration and Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry did not respond to requests for comment. Representatives of the CPC, Chevron and ExxonMobil also declined to comment.
Not the first US request to Ukraine
According to the FT, Vance’s request was not the first time US officials had sought to prevent Ukrainian actions that could affect American business interests in Russia.
In February, former Ukrainian ambassador to the United States Olga Stefanishyna said she had received a diplomatic demarche from the US State Department after a Ukrainian drone strike on the port of Novorossiysk in late 2025.
