Details Have Emerged About Vance's Request To Zelenskyy
- 12.08.2026, 9:11
The U.S. Vice President called the Ukrainian president on July 31.
Ukraine has halted drone strikes on Russian oil tankers near the port of Novorossiysk in the Black Sea after U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance made a request to that effect late last month. This was reported by Financial Times citing Ukrainian officials.
According to the publication’s sources, on July 31 during a phone call, Vance asked President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to halt the attacks. Since then, Ukraine has not carried out any strikes on tankers near the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal.
“Washington was alarmed that Ukraine continues to destabilize oil markets and harm American companies by striking tankers transporting oil via pipelines from Kazakhstan to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal in the Russian port of Novorossiysk,” the article notes.
According to officials, Ukraine agreed not to attack the infrastructure of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium or vessels not owned by Russia, — provided that these vessels are not subject to Ukrainian sanctions and are not transporting Russian oil or other Russian cargo.
“We are listening very carefully to our American partners,” said one of the publication’s sources, adding that Kyiv had established appropriate mechanisms in response to the U.S. request.
A source familiar with Ukraine’s position said that Kyiv had accommodated the Trump administration because it hoped to obtain a U.S. license to manufacture Patriot missiles, as well as to purchase several hundred of these missiles before winter sets in—before Russia intensifies its airstrikes on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure.
A U.S. official confirmed that the administration had warned Kyiv of the need to cease shelling non-Russian vessels in the Black Sea, as well as infrastructure belonging to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium. “The administration views the CPC as a vital channel for the supply of energy from Kazakhstan to European markets, serving as an alternative to Russian energy resources,” the official explained.
U.S. energy giants Chevron and ExxonMobil hold stakes in both the consortium itself and the West Kazakhstan oil fields it serves: Chevron owns 50% of Tengiz, the country’s largest oil field, while Exxon owns 25%.