Marta Gichko08:03, 25.02.26

The State Department has issued a demarche to Kyiv over the attack on Novorossiysk, which affected US interests in Kazakhstan.

The Donald Trump administration has delivered an official diplomatic demarche to Ukraine following the attack on a Russian oil facility near Novorossiysk in the Black Sea, Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Olga Stefanishyna said at a briefing, CNN reports .

According to her, the US State Department reported that Ukrainian strikes on Novorossiysk at the end of last year affected American investments made through Kazakhstan.

“We heard from the State Department that we should refrain from attacks on American interests,” Stefanishina said at a briefing, clarifying that she was referring specifically to US economic interests, and not to a ban on attacks on Russian military or energy infrastructure in general.

“We took that into account,” she added.

The attack on Novorossiysk and the consequences for Kazakhstan

In late November, Ukrainian drones attacked the port of Novorossiysk, damaging infrastructure, including a key pipeline that transports Kazakh oil to the Black Sea.

The main shareholder of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium is Chevron. After the attack, Kazakhstan’s oil exports decreased significantly, which affected American economic interests.

The ambassador noted that the State Department’s address emphasized that the United States currently has significant economic interests in Kazakhstan, but not in Ukraine.

“I am very sorry that in 35 years of Ukraine’s independence we have not reached a situation where we could do the same,” she said.

Against the backdrop of a protracted war

The demarche came against the backdrop of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion. US-brokered peace talks have yet to yield a breakthrough, and fighting continues.

Stefanishyna also criticized what she believed was an insufficient level of pressure on Moscow at the beginning of the war. “We did enough for Ukraine to survive, but not enough to prevent Russia from evolving,” she said.

The ambassador called on the US Congress to pass a law to strengthen sanctions against the Russian Federation, emphasizing that the delay in its adoption is perceived in Moscow as a victory.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with CNN that he would like Trump to “stay on our side.” Asked whether Washington was putting enough pressure on Vladimir Putin, he replied: “No.”

(C)UNIAN 2026