Trump envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff floated the idea in Moscow and Kyiv in September, with a US intermediary meant to get around European sanctions, The Wall Street Journal reported on 2 November. European capitals resist it, WSJ said. The Kremlin says the plan cannot work for now, and Kyiv had not commented by Monday afternoon.

The gas is meant to unlock an energy ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv before winter, US, European, and Ukrainian officials told WSJ. Washington shelved the idea in October, when Ukraine paused strikes on Russian refineries for almost two weeks under US pressure while Russia kept pounding Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Kyiv’s resumed strikes on 30 October gave the truce push new urgency ahead of US-Russia-Ukraine talks planned for mid-November in Abu Dhabi. Russia has so far rebuffed it.

The pitch

US negotiators see a return to Europe’s gas market as a powerful incentive for Moscow to agree, and argue Kyiv would earn transit fees. People who attended the talks said the deal could be lucrative for American investors. To keep the money from funding the war, White House officials proposed holding the proceeds in a third-country escrow account.

Washington has also cleared Russian diesel sales and is reviewing a request to lift sanctions on the Kremlin’s investment fund.

Europe’s own law

EU rules stand in the way. A Council regulation adopted on 26 January brings a full ban on Russian LNG from the beginning of 2027 and on pipeline gas from autumn 2027. Europe could shift more easily if Kyiv endorsed the gas sales as part of a ceasefire, diplomats told WSJ.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on 2 November that the situation on the ground showed such plans could not be carried out at the moment. What happens later, he said, depends on buyers and sellers.

Earlier reports from the talks

The New York Times reported on 17 October that the envoys had urged President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to consider restarting the pipelines to help persuade Russia to end the war. Ukraine had let its transit deal expire on 1 January 2025, losing about $1 billion a year in fees, the paper noted. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said then that the move cut off some of Putin’s last leverage over Europe.

Le Monde reported on 27 October, citing a witness close to the Ukrainian delegation, that Witkoff pushed for fully reopening the pipelines carrying Russian gas and oil through Ukraine at talks in Florida on 9 October. Presidential Office head Kyrylo Budanov rejected the plan, the newspaper reported.