US warns Ukraine against strikes affecting CPC oil exports

The warning concerns oil exports via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which carries most of Kazakhstan’s crude to Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. Kyiv said it had taken note of the warning, Orda.kz reports, citing Reuters.

Ukraine received a formal diplomatic note from the U.S. State Department regarding attacks on CPC infrastructure near Novorossiysk, said Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United States.

She said that the strikes had affected U.S. "economic interests related to Kazakhstan", since most of Kazakhstan’s oil is exported through Novorossiysk.

«We heard from the State Department that we should refrain from striking American interests,» Stefanishyna said. 

She stressed that the message concerned U.S. economic interests rather than constituting a general call to stop striking Russian military and energy targets. Kyiv, she said, "took note" of the warning.

In late November 2025, the CPC marine terminal near Novorossiysk was attacked by drones. Loading was temporarily suspended and tankers were moved out of the port area. CPC later reported that it had completed repairs to one of the damaged mooring devices.

Following the attack, Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry lodged a protest, stating that it viewed the incident as detrimental to bilateral relations between Kazakhstan and Ukraine. Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry announced that it would reroute some of its exports via alternative routes.

Prior to Washington’s intervention, Ukrainian officials publicly stated that they had not struck nor intended to strike Kazakhstan’s economy or infrastructure. Following the attack on the CPC facility, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry stated that their actions were exclusively aimed at Russia’s military capabilities and did not target Kazakhstan or any other third parties.

Ukraine’s Ambassador to Kazakhstan, Viktor Maiko, expressed a similar stance, emphasizing that Kazakhstan «is not and will not be the target of Ukrainian strikes».

«Ukraine has never struck the economy or infrastructure of Kazakhstan,» he said. 

The Caspian Pipeline Consortium transports oil from the Tengiz, Kashagan and Karachaganak fields. In 2024, approximately 63 million tonnes of oil were shipped through the system, with around 74% of this belonging to foreign shippers.

Original author: Ruslan Loginov