The US has called on Ukraine to respond to the targeting of oil tankers in the Black Sea, after Kiev began carrying out drone attacks on ships sailing towards a partly US-owned terminal of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) in Russia, the Financial Times reported.

Ukrainian drone attacks targeting the CPC – which transports Kazakh crude oil through southern Russia to a sea terminal near Novorossiysk, from where tankers transport it onward to Europe and Asia – have tested Washington’s patience to the limit, prompting US Vice President JD Vance to pressure Volodymyr Zelensky to halt the attacks during a phone call on July 31, unidentified Ukrainian officials told the FT.

The CPC route involves a combination of Russian, Kazakh and Western interests, with Chevron and ExxonMobil among the most important American shareholders.

According to the newspaper's sources, Vance told Zelensky that Ukraine was not only harming the interests of American companies, but also shaking up oil markets, which are already under pressure due to the still ongoing US-Israeli war against Iran. Zelensky seems to have quickly given in and given up on attacking tankers near the CPC terminal, as long as they are not under Ukrainian sanctions or are not carrying Russian goods.

"We listen very carefully to our American partners," a senior Ukrainian official told the newspaper, saying Kiev had installed new 'mechanisms' following the US intervention.

Ukraine also reportedly tried to use the attacks as a bargaining chip in talks with the US. An FT source claimed that Kiev had agreed to Washington's request because it was seeking a US license to produce urgently needed Patriot interceptor missiles.

While US President Donald Trump promised a license in early July, he later backed away from that promise, reportedly refusing to send additional air defense missiles due to a shortage caused by the Iran war.

Russia has denounced Ukraine's attacks on oil tankers as "terrorist acts" and accused Kiev of targeting civilian infrastructure.

Kazakhstan also protested the drone strikes, though without directly blaming Ukraine. It called the attacks on civilian ships carrying Chinese crude oil an “unacceptable violation” of its economic interests and warned that they risked destabilizing legitimate trade, energy markets and global supply chains.

However, Kiev publicly refused to accept responsibility and urged Kazakhstan and other affected countries to "refrain from making hasty and unfounded accusations."