Ukraine halts Black Sea oil tanker drone strikes after US vice president's request

Ukraine has halted drone strikes on oil tankers in the Black Sea at Washington's request, the Financial Times reported Tuesday.

According to Ukrainian officials, US Vice President JD Vance asked President Volodymyr Zelensky to stop the attacks during a phone call on July 31.

The US expressed concern that Ukraine's strikes on Black Sea vessels could destabilize international oil markets and harm American companies.

US energy companies Chevron and ExxonMobil hold stakes in oil fields in western Kazakhstan and in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC). Oil produced in Kazakhstan flows through the CPC pipeline to the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, where it is loaded onto tankers at the CPC terminal and exported to Europe.

After the US request, Ukraine stopped attacking tankers near the CPC terminal.

A senior Ukrainian official said the country "listens very carefully to the American position" and had put in place arrangements to respond to the US request.

Ukraine had previously carried out strikes targeting the CPC terminal and Russian vessels. On July 17, a tanker chartered by ExxonMobil was struck while waiting to load crude at the CPC terminal. The strikes forced Kazakhstan to suspend oil shipments to Novorossiysk on multiple occasions, and maritime freight and insurance costs more than doubled.

According to shipping analytics firm Kpler, CPC crude loadings in July were limited to 1.3 million barrels per day — more than 300,000 barrels below the previous month's level and 600,000 barrels below May's.

One source said Ukraine agreed to the US request in order to secure American authorization for Patriot interceptor missile production. Zelensky told Vance during their call that "Patriot missiles and air defense are Ukraine's top priority."

Ukraine is also pursuing plans to acquire hundreds of Patriot missiles before this winter.

Meanwhile, even as it has halted tanker strikes in the Black Sea, Ukraine has intensified attacks on other Russian energy infrastructure. This month it struck three oil refineries deep inside Russian territory, dealing significant damage to Russia's refining capacity.