Foreign-flagged vessels with international crews carrying crude oil were targeted near the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk in a series of drone strikes, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated.
The attacks, which occurred between July 17 and 20, involved two tankers—the Asia and the Nissos—being struck during loading operations at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) marine terminal. A fire broke out aboard the Asia but was quickly extinguished with no casualties or oil spills reported.
Zakharova described the incidents as the fifth attack on civilian infrastructure of the CPC, emphasizing that “there is no doubt that the Kiev Nazi regime is behind this attack.” She accused Ukrainian military leadership of deliberately targeting facilities to inflict “irreparable damage” on the consortium, whose shareholders include major energy companies from Russia, Kazakhstan, the US, and Western Europe.
“Deliberate strikes against facilities and civilian vessels in the consortium’s maritime terminal waters constitute an attack on the interests of its member countries,” Zakharova added. She specifically condemned Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky for disregarding the damage inflicted on Kiev’s own Western backers, stating: “The Kiev junta, like the snake in the well-known fable, mercilessly bites the hand that feeds it.”
The strikes came as Ukraine intensified operations against shipping and energy facilities in the Black Sea region. Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry also condemned the attacks, noting they threaten maritime security and the uninterrupted movement of energy resources.
The CPC pipeline, which links oil fields in western Kazakhstan with the terminal near Novorossiysk and carries around 80% of Kazakhstan’s crude exports, is owned by Transneft, KazMunayGas, Chevron, Lukoil, ExxonMobil, and the Rosneft-Shell Caspian Ventures joint venture.
