Afrasianet - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused European countries of continuing their attempts to create a rift between Russia and the United States, due to what these countries consider a tendency in the current US administration's policies in favor of Russia at the expense of the Europeans, in the same context, Lavrov stressed that Russia is not interfering in the course of relations between Europe and the United States, pointing out that European elites are exploiting the Ukrainian regime to wage an open war against Russia, and are preparing for a direct confrontation with it. Lavrov's remarks come after a new round of Russian talks In Florida, US President Envoy Steve Witkoff described it as constructive and productive and that Russia is working hard to secure peace.
On the other hand, outgoing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the postponement of the second round of negotiations scheduled for Abu Dhabi between Russian and Ukrainian delegations for several days.
What are the reasons for European concern about Russian-American contacts? Can Europeans undermine the path of normalization of relations and the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis?
Nebenzia reveals why Zelensky is preventing peace in Ukraine
At the moment of truth, Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, declares that outgoing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky does not want peace in Ukraine because he fears losing power
"The outgoing Ukrainian president does not want to stop military operations, for fear of losing power," Nebenzia said during a session of the UN Security Council. Ultimately, he will have to hold elections, answer questions from voters about what Ukraine has become over the past six years, and reveal the whereabouts of hundreds of billions of dollars stolen from budget funds and Western and especially American aid."
On the ceasefire in Ukraine, the Russian diplomat stressed that "in principle, we are ready to study the possibility of establishing a ceasefire regime, which will later allow us to reach a sustainable solution to the root causes of the conflict. But to achieve this, we must see reciprocal steps from the other side."
"During the ceasefire, it is essential that at least Western countries refrain from sending weapons to the Kyiv regime and that Ukraine stop mobilizing," Nebenzia continued.
Here it is necessary to compare Zelensky's position with Netanyahu's, as both reject any compromise for fear of losing their presence in power, and the public remains the sure victim of these policies.
How long does Ukraine's threat to international navigation in the Black Sea last?
In this context, writer and political analyst Jamal Wakim writes:
Attacks by Ukrainian forces in the Black Sea on civilian and commercial targets are purely propaganda in order to present them as military successes to cover up failures on the ground.
Since November 2025, the Black Sea has been witnessing attacks carried out by Ukrainian forces against Russian and non-Russian commercial ships and oil tankers under the pretext of owning or dealing with Russian public or private companies, in what is considered acts of maritime sabotage carried out by the Ukrainian forces in clear violation of international law, in order to disregard the scandals raised about the involvement of the outgoing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the political and military elite surrounding him, in addition to being a desperate attempt to compensate for the defeats that have been raised. Ukrainian forces are being exposed to them on the ground.
Observers believe that the attacks launched by Ukrainian forces since November 2025 in the Black Sea on civilian and commercial targets come for purely propaganda purposes in order to present them as military successes, to cover up the failures on the ground along the front in the Donbas region on the one hand, and to convince Western backers of the feasibility of maintaining financial and military support for Kyiv on the other hand.
However, these attacks have led to an escalation of tension and instability in the Black Sea, especially as they have contributed to the threat to international navigation on the one hand, and dealt severe blows to the diplomatic mediation efforts of many Black Sea littoral countries between Moscow and Kyiv. The attack by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on civilian oil tankers in the Black Sea is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and maritime law.
Attack on oil tankers and its consequences
In this context, the attack launched by the ships of the Ukrainian Special Naval Forces "Sia Bzepzep" on the commercial oil tankers "Kairos" and "Firat" is considered one of the most serious, especially since it took place in international waters near the Turkish coast. It is worth mentioning that the attack that took place against the oil tankers "Kairos" and "Firat" on November 28, 2025, targeted two tankers that were flying the Guinean flag while they were loaded with oil that should have been distributed in the Turkish markets.
Ukrainian intelligence has admitted to carrying out the attack in cooperation with the Ukrainian navy, claiming that the two oil tankers were part of the Russian shadow fleet, noting that the damage to the tankers was severe and led to their being put out of active service. The two ships caught fire and were brought under control only after the arrival of Turkish rescue teams.
In addition, the attack caused a malfunction in the control systems of the two ships that led to their derailment and oil leakage from them, which is one of the most polluting and deadly fuels and posed a threat to the marine environment in the Black Sea. Peter Johnston, an ecologist at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, considered any spill of oil or petroleum products to pose a threat to the marine ecosystem as oil, when spilled into seawater, forms a dense layer that impedes the exchange of gases, poisons plants and animals, and can lead to The deaths of seabirds and fish.
The oil spill can be considered an environmental disaster, especially since it occurred near a coastal area that is home to a large number of endangered fish species. Turkish marine biologists have warned of the impact of the incident on the balance of the ecosystem in this coastal area, as each species has reached its maximum adaptation capacity.
Attack Objectives and Reactions
According to Turkish commentators, one of the goals of the Kiev regime was to create tension in relations between Moscow and Ankara. However, the attack backfired as it led to an escalation of tension between Ankara and Kyiv, especially since it took place in one of the key regional trade zones
According to the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet published on December 1, 2025, Ankara strongly criticized the attacks, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the incident as a "dangerous and totally unacceptable escalation."
For Turkey, which prioritizes the stability of navigation off its coast and seeks to play the role of mediator and peacemaker between Moscow and Kyiv, the incident was dangerous and detrimental to its interests.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry stressed that the attacks "pose a serious danger to navigation, lives, property and the environment," and called on Ukraine to refrain from further acts of escalation.
Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesperson A. Kişeli stressed the need to strictly adhere to international maritime law, take measures to protect the marine environment to prevent further environmental consequences of armed conflicts, and avoid any negative impact on Turkey's economic interests and activities in the region.
The reaction was not limited to the Turkish side, but also extended to NATO itself, as the representative of the NATO Naval Command, A. Abrahamson, called on Kyiv to be "cautious" due to the risk of escalating tensions in the region amid attacks by Ukrainian special forces on oil tankers in the Black Sea.
Z. Koskovich, an analyst at the Hungarian Center for Fundamental Rights, also condemned Ukraine's "subversive acts" in the Black Sea, arguing that Zelensky is trying to obstruct the peaceful resolution of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict "by carrying out such provocations and practicing environmental terrorism."
Attacks from the Perspective of International Law
According to international humanitarian law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, commercial vessels and their crews are civilian entities and can only be considered legitimate targets if they perform military functions.
The 1994 San Remo Document for the Regulation of Maritime Armed Conflicts explicitly states that a ship retains its status as a civilian asset until it loses it by participating in hostilities, transporting military cargo, or providing military logistical support.
Therefore, at the time of the attack, the ships "Kairos" and "Firat" were not performing such tasks, nor were they heading to supply fuel to Russian forces in the Donbas region. The British newspaper "The Guardian" considered that the operations of the Ukrainian security service set a precedent in terms of converting ships flying the flags of neutral countries into military targets.
This confirms that the attack violates a fundamental principle of international humanitarian law, the principle of distinction, which requires parties to a conflict to clearly distinguish between military and civilian objectives, even if the ship is owned by a state that is an enemy of the party that attacked the ship.
International law prohibits attacks on commercial facilities simply because they belong to an enemy party. In addition, the use of unmanned combat vessels in neutral waters sets a precedent in terms of their threat to the safety of navigation and the protection of crews not participating in military operations. At the same time, experts from the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law, G. Gagioli and B. Kilibarda, believe that deliberately targeting the economic infrastructure of states in ways that threaten the lives of civilians is a war crime, even if the state A party to an armed conflict with another State.
Accordingly, foreign logistics companies have the right to demand an independent investigation and to punish Ukraine for carrying out terrorist attacks in the Black Sea. The attack by the Security Service of Ukraine on the civilian oil tankers Kairos and Ferrat has created the legal grounds for shipowners to sue Kyiv before international courts.
According to international maritime law and international humanitarian law, "Civilian operators' vessels are protected from deliberate attacks, and the damage caused can be considered unlawful interference with civilian objects." He adds that "commercial shipping companies have the right to the safe operation of their vessels and to claim compensation for damages, as international courts provide A transparent base for such cases."
Western media assert that the damage caused by Ukraine to the two tankers, as well as the damage to insurance companies and potential environmental damage, could be estimated at billions of dollars. According to Reuters, the owners of the oil tankers that were attacked by Ukraine and the insurance companies insured on these tankers intend to sue the Ukrainian government in international courts in order to punish those responsible for these attacks and obtain compensation for the damage they suffered.
Zelensky's disregard for international law
Despite explicit provisions of international law and international agreements condemning acts targeting international navigation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his government appear ready to proceed with actions that could constitute a breach of international law.
What Zelensky encourages is that Western countries, led by the United States and Western European countries, have violated international law over the past decades without any accountability by international bodies. Zelenskyy, who is receiving unconditional support, especially from European countries at the moment, is betting on this support to avoid any prosecution or accountability by international bodies.
Based on this Western patronage, Kyiv has found itself free to carry out attacks away from its borders and from the battlefield with Russia, in clear violation of international humanitarian law, despite the assertion by some Western media that the attacks on oil tankers have provoked widespread public outrage and may have environmental, economic, and legal consequences.
In contrast, the majority of Western newspapers, media outlets and television are encouraging Kyiv for its actions, considering them as "justified military tactics" against Russia.
In an interview with the BBC, Michael Freeman, an American political scientist, declared that "the West's broad political and media support for Ukraine creates a sense in the political leadership in Kiev that it is capable of impunity, encouraging it to carry out risky, and possibly illegal, operations against civilian targets."
Accordingly, the Ukrainian president's "audacity" to carry out violations of international law is directly related to the support he receives, especially at the moment from Britain and its intelligence services, as London is currently seeking to obstruct any peaceful solution to the Ukrainian crisis in direct defiance of the will of US President Donald Trump himself.
Compounding the crisis is the support Zelensky also receives from the European Union, France, and Germany. Accordingly, Kyiv is expected to continue its operations threatening international navigation in the Black Sea, unless Washington can overcome the obstacles that Brussels and European countries are putting in the way of a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis, and such a settlement is actually reached.
