Nations Call for Ukraine to End Attacks on Black Sea Oil ...

By Peter Aitken

Politics Weekend Editor

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Turkey and Kazakhstan have condemned Ukraine's attacks on Russian oil assets in the Black Sea and urged an end to further strikes that could threaten the flow of energy supplies to nearby nations.

Newsweek reached out to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry by email outside of normal business hours on Sunday afternoon.

Why It Matters

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is nearing its four-year mark as the Trump administration and officials from Moscow and Kyiv continue to seek a peace deal that will end the conflict.

Western nations attempted to limit Russia's resources by implementing sanctions and switching to alternative energy sources or supplies of oil to cut off Russia's cash flow. However, the Kremlin has continued to sell off its oil, both legally and through its increasingly notorious shadow fleet of unmarked oil tankers sailing around the world, and fund its military campaign in Ukraine.

Ukraine has therefore attacked Russian energy assets in the Black Sea while the U.S. and European allies look to potentially implement sanctions against any nation that continues to conduct business with Russia.

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What To Know

The Turkish government on Sunday condemned Ukrainian drone strikes on two Russian "shadow fleet" tankers in the Black Sea, while Kazakhstan, an OPEC+ member, told Ukraine it must stop attacking the Black Sea terminal of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which includes Russian, Kazakh, and American shareholders.

Both attacks have hindered the flow of oil through the Black Sea, which in turn is hurting nearby nations who continue to rely on Russian oil to meet their energy demands.

The CPC announced it halted operations after a mooring at its Russian terminal on the Black Sea was damaged by a Ukrainian naval drone attack, Reuters reported. Kazakhstan's foreign ministry said the attacks were the third such wave on the facility, which it insists is "an exclusively civilian facility whose operation is safeguarded by norms of international law."

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Ukraine said its actions were retaliation and that the nation only "hits back at the aggressors," having no ill intent against Kazakhstan or any third parties, but Kazakhstan understandably is keen to keep the terminal operational as it accounts for 80 percent of oil exports for the West Asian nation.

And the Turkish foreign ministry said the attacks on the Kairos and Virat vessels happened within the Turkish exclusive economic zone, posing "serious risk to navigation, life, property, and environmental safety in the region."

Turkey has been involved in the peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, and is now additionally communicating with relevant parties to prevent the conflict spreading any further throughout the Black Sea.

The OpenSanctions database describes the two vessels as part of a fleet of ships used to evade sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, the Associated Press reported.

Ukraine, meanwhile, confirmed that it used naval drones to hit the tankers near Turkey's Black Sea coast, and all crew members on both vessels were reported safe after the strikes.

What People Are Saying

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X, in part: "In furtherance of the pressure from partners on Russia for this war, Ukraine has synchronized sanctions with the United States and introduced restrictions against Rosneft, its enterprises, as well as companies that are part of the Lukoil group. Now, sanctions against these companies are already noticeably depriving the Russian war machine of money, and this needs to be continued."

Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas earlier this month wrote on X: "The EU has a very clear two-point plan: first, weaken Russia; second, support Ukraine. Sanctions are hitting Russia hard. The export of Russian crude oil is at its lowest. And tax revenues from oil are the lowest since the war started."

Russian President Vladimir Putin last week told reporters at a press conference: "We are still receiving proposals about ceasing hostilities. Hostilities will cease when Ukrainian troops leave the territories they occupy. If they do not withdraw, we will achieve it militarily. That's all."

What Happens Next

The Trump administration continues speaking with Russian and Ukraine counterparts to seek an end to the conflict, with a meeting on Sunday in Florida that aims to make significant progress on closing gaps on a potential peace plan.

This article includes reporting by The Associated Press.

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