Russia condemns Ukrainian drone attacks on CPC oil vessels near Novorossiysk

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Monday condemned alleged Ukrainian drone attacks on vessels loading oil at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) marine terminal near the Russian city of Novorossiysk.

Zakharova said in a statement Ukraine was behind the strikes, arguing the goal was to undermine stability in global energy markets and disrupt civilian energy infrastructure.

"This is already the fifth act of aggression against a civilian facility of the company that is protected under international law," she said.

The diplomat noted that the strikes targeted civilian infrastructure and threatened international energy supplies.

"Several tankers, including vessels chartered by Kazakhstan's Tengizchevroil and KazMunayGas, were targeted by drones between July 17 and July 20 while loading crude oil at the CPC terminal in Yuzhnaya Ozereyevka," she said.

The official emphasized that the attacks were an assault on the interests of all CPC stakeholders, noting that the consortium includes companies from Russia, Kazakhstan, the US, and several Western European countries.

The spokeswoman expressed support for Kazakhstan's earlier condemnation of the attacks.

Kazakhstan's Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that the strikes on civilian vessels involved in transporting oil through CPC infrastructure constituted an unacceptable infringement on the country's economic interests and called for an immediate end to the attacks.

Zakharova urged the international community to condemn "a terrorist attack against civilian infrastructure," adding that Moscow would view any failure to respond as "tacit approval of Kyiv's actions."

Ukraine has not commented on the claims, though it previously stated it targets Russian energy infrastructure.