US Revives Plan to Restart Russian Gas Flows to Europe Through Ukraine

In brief

• The US is reportedly pushing to restart Russian gas sales to Europe via Ukrainian pipelines as part of an energy truce before winter.
• The plan would route sales through an American intermediary, with revenue held in an escrow account in a third country.
• EU law requires member states to end Russian gas purchases by the end of 2027, and European officials reject the idea.

Idea revived after October pause

The plan was shelved in October, after Ukraine halted strikes on Russian refineries while Russia kept attacking Ukrainian energy infrastructure (США знову просувають відновлення транзиту російського газу до Європи через Україну, — WSJ – Espreso). After Ukraine resumed strikes on Russian oil-refining plants, the idea of a broader energy truce returned ahead of trilateral talks planned for mid-November.

How the scheme would work

Envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff floated the idea during their September visits to Moscow and Kyiv, according to officials from the United States, Ukraine and Europe cited by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ: США предложили России возобновить продажи газа в Европу через американского посредника. Европейцы категорически против – Meduza) (Rosyjski gaz znów popłynie do Europy? Waszyngton ma nowy pomysł – Bankier.pl). Gas would be sold through an American intermediary, which would help bypass European sanctions and give US investors a stake. Under the White House proposal, Russia would deposit the revenue into an escrow account in a third country so the Kremlin could not use it to fund the war, while Kyiv would earn transit fees.

Washington's argument

US negotiators believe a return to the European gas market would give Vladimir Putin a strong incentive to accept an energy ceasefire. They also present it as a way to lower energy prices before winter, when gas storage in Europe has fallen to its lowest level for this time of year in several years.

European resistance

EU law requires all 27 member states to end purchases of Russian natural gas by the end of 2027 (Rosyjski gaz może popłynąć przez Ukrainę. Donald Trump chce powrotu do handlu z Rosją – Rzeczpospolita) (USA navrhly obnovit prodeje ruského plynu do EU přes Ukrajinu – Novinky.cz). The bloc's official position is that it will not return to buying Russian gas, and European officials reject the idea in private conversations. Donald Trump has previously criticized Germany for buying Russian gas, which makes the new stance a sharp reversal.