Ambassador Olga Stefanishyna said the U.S. State Department raised concerns with Kyiv about Ukraine strikes on the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, which she said affected American oil interests in Kazakhstan. Her remarks came Tuesday as Ukrainian and international officials marked the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and as Washington continues to press for a peace settlement between Moscow and Kyiv.
Stefanishyna told reporters in Washington that the U.S. contact “was related to the very fact that American economic interest was affected there,” adding, “This reach-out was not related to encouraging Ukraine from refraining to attack Russian military and energy infrastructure.” She said the U.S. acknowledged the impact and that Kyiv “have taken the note,” while the State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Stefanishyna framed the exchange as recognition of events that had occurred during the war rather than a directive to halt particular strikes. “It did happen,” she said, referring to the disruption to American interests tied to the Novorossiysk port, and she said the U.S. communicated its concern directly to Ukraine.
She pointed to the regional energy link between Kazakhstan and the Russian port, saying the Caspian Pipeline Consortium operates a pipeline from the Caspian coast in northwest Kazakhstan to Novorossiysk. She said the pipeline handles much of the crude exports from three major Kazakh fields that include stakes held by U.S. energy companies Chevron and ExxonMobil.
The conflict’s diplomacy also remained in focus as G7 leaders issued a statement to mark the anniversary, reaffirming “unwavering support for Ukraine in defending its territorial integrity and right to exist, and its freedom, sovereignty and independence.” The statement also praised President Donald Trump’s efforts to negotiate a peace settlement between Russia and Ukraine.
In the U.N. General Assembly, a resolution passed on Tuesday calling for support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and urging an immediate ceasefire and comprehensive peace. The U.S. abstained on the measure; U.S. deputy ambassador Tammy Bruce said the Trump administration supports an immediate ceasefire but that language on Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity “would ‘distract’ from peace negotiations with Russia.”
Stefanishyna’s comments came against the backdrop of ongoing U.S.-brokered talks, with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin maintaining what she described as maximalist demands. The reporting around the talks said Putin has insisted that Kyiv pull its forces from four Ukrainian regions that Moscow has illegally annexed but has not fully captured, while Trump has argued that Russia will ultimately win control of Ukrainian territory and has pressed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to make a deal to save lives.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine has withstood Russia’s bigger and better equipped army, and he cited recent assessment from the Institute for the Study of War, which the reporting said found Russia has captured just 0.79% of Ukraine’s territory over the past year. The reporting said Russia now holds nearly 20% of Ukraine.
As Trump prepared to deliver his annual State of the Union address later Tuesday, Stefanishyna said she expects the president, who has made ending the war a priority, to address the conflict, though she said she did not expect major changes in his message. She also said the Ukrainian side wanted Trump to hear directly from Kyiv ahead of the speech, describing the expectation that Ukrainian people continue to rely on his leadership.