The Russian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday condemned drone strikes on oil tankers near a terminal on its Black Sea coast and accused Ukraine of attacking commercial ships.
"We strongly condemn yet another terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime on commercial civilian vessels that comply with all norms of international law," the ministry said. Ukraine has not commented on Tuesday's incident.
The Russian statement said Moscow fully supports a call by Kazakhstan for effective measures to ensure the security of oil transportation.
Three Greek-managed oil tankers were hit by unidentified drones in the Black Sea on Tuesday. They were on their way to load crude at a terminal operated by Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) off the Russian coast.
CPC alone accounts for around 80 per cent of oil exports from Kazakhstan. War insurance costs for ships sailing to the Black Sea nearly doubled following Tuesday's attack.
(Reporting by Maxim Rodionov; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
