- WIADOMOŚCI
Ukraine pauses attacks at the request of the US
Photo. The White House
In recent weeks, there have been reports of regular attacks in which Ukrainian drones struck Russian oil tankers. However, strikes on vessels using the port of Novorossiysk on the Black Sea were halted at the request of the US administration.
As reported by the Financial Times, citing Ukrainian officials, US Vice President J.D. Vance is said to have issued a request in July to halt attacks on tankers. These reports were confirmed by an anonymous representative of the US administration. Washington reportedly concluded that Ukrainian strikes contribute to the destabilisation of the fuel market and threaten the transit of Kazakh oil through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal. This is an initiative linking, among others, Russian and Kazakh energy corporations.
The Ukrainian side is said to have agreed not to attack CPC infrastructure and Russian-owned tankers, provided they are not subject to Ukrainian sanctions and are not transporting Russian petroleum products or other goods from that state. In July, regular attacks were carried out on Russian units in the Black Sea. According to four FT sources, the July drone strikes reportedly caused a one-fifth drop in oil loadings from CPC infrastructure, which negatively affected Kazakhstan’s exports and the operations of Western oil companies. Kazakhstan bases its foreign trade on the CPC. Oil production in that country reportedly fell by 14 per cent in July compared to June.
American requests for the Ukrainians to halt the attacks show that Kyiv is capable of exerting influence on the economies of other states (not only Russia) using military force. This fact bolsters the Ukrainian negotiating position and may exert pressure on partners such as the US, encouraging them to become more involved in peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.
