MOSCOW (Realist English). Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has stated that a series of drone attacks on tankers in the waters of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) marine terminal at Yuzhnaya Ozereyka (Novorossiysk) was carried out by the Kyiv regime.
As the diplomat stressed, this is already the fifth act of aggression against a civilian facility of the company, which is protected under international law.
Chronicle of Attacks: Five Strikes in Four Days
Between July 17 and 20, 2026, during loading operations at berthing facilities VPU‑1 and VPU‑3 of the CPC marine terminal, several tankers came under deliberate terrorist attack using UAVs. The vessels hit included:
- July 17 — tanker Nordic Zenith.
- July 19 — tankers ASIA (carrying crude for Tengizchevroil) and NISSOS IOS (destined for KazMunayGas shipments).
- July 20 — tanker NELSA at the VPU‑1 berth.
The vessels were sailing under foreign flags with international crews on board. According to the CPC, a fire broke out on one of the vessels, which was extinguished by the consortium’s emergency teams. There were no casualties or injuries, and no oil product spill occurred. However, due to the incidents, oil loading was temporarily suspended.
Russian Foreign Ministry’s Position: “The Hand That Feeds” and “The Snake from the Fable”
Zakharova stated that there is no doubt about the Kyiv regime’s involvement in the attacks. According to her, Ukrainian militants are making persistent attempts to inflict “irreparable damage” on the CPC, which unites the largest fuel and energy enterprises of Russia, Kazakhstan, the United States, and a number of Western European countries.
The diplomat stressed that deliberate strikes on facilities and civilian vessels in the waters of the consortium’s marine terminal constitute an attack on the interests of its member states, including those providing large‑scale military and financial assistance to Ukraine.
“The Kyiv junta, like the snake from the well‑known fable, is ruthlessly biting the hand that feeds it,” Zakharova said.
Solidarity with Kazakhstan and Appeal to the International Community
Zakharova expressed solidarity with Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry in its decisive condemnation of the crime against a civilian facility. Earlier, Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry confirmed the attacks on the tankers and announced an assessment of the damage caused.
In the Russian diplomat’s view, the attacks are aimed at further destabilising the situation on global oil markets. Zakharova called on the international community to give a proportionate assessment of yet another war crime committed by Volodymyr Zelensky’s regime, warning that the absence of an adequate response would be seen as “complicity and approval of Kyiv’s line of escalating terror.”
Consequences for the CPC
The Caspian Pipeline Consortium is one of the key export routes for Kazakh oil. Attacks on its infrastructure damage not only Russia’s interests but also those of Kazakhstan and Western participating companies, including US and European corporations.
According to Reuters, in recent weeks Ukraine and Russia have intensified attacks on vessels and other facilities in the Black and Azov Seas, seeking to undermine each other’s military efforts.
