US explores resuming Russian gas flow to Europe via Ukraine

The plan aims to establish an energy truce ahead of the winter months, potentially influencing three-way peace negotiations scheduled for mid-November in Abu Dhabi. To circumvent European Union sanctions – which mandate the end of Russian natural gas purchases by 2027 – the sales would be managed through a US intermediary.

Initial progress on the initiative was paused after Kyiv halted attacks on Russian refineries at the request of the Trump administration. However, following renewed Russian assaults on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, Kyiv has restarted strikes on Russian energy targets.

Officials believe that the prospect of Russian gas returning to the European market could incentivize Vladimir Putin to cease attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure. Ukraine would also benefit from substantial transit fees generated by the gas flowing through its pipelines. Proceeds from the sales would be deposited into an escrow account to prevent the Kremlin from using the funds to finance its war effort, a senior US official stated.

Despite efforts to restrict Russian energy imports, the EU imported a record 12.18 million tonnes of Russian Arctic LNG in the first nine months of 2026, spending an estimated €7.88 billion (£6.6 billion) on LNG from Russia’s Yamal project during that period.

This proposal represents a setback for European efforts to curtail the flow of Russian natural gas, particularly as bans on short-term LNG contracts signed before June 17, 2025, only came into effect in April of this year, and new contracts were banned as of March 18, 2026. A full ban on Russian LNG is not scheduled to take effect until 2027.