Trump wants Russia selling gas to Europe again through Ukraine's pipelines in a push for a winter energy truce

US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff proposed the scheme during trips to Moscow and Kyiv, with trilateral peace talks scheduled for mid-November in Abu Dhabi. Russian gas would flow through existing Ukrainian pipelines via a US intermediary, sidestepping EU sanctions that ban direct purchases of Russian gas. Washington put the plan on hold after Kyiv halted strikes on Russian refineries, but revived it after Moscow refused to stop attacking Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

Kyiv would collect significant transit fees, giving Ukraine a direct financial stake in the deal's success.

Russian gas revenues would be held in escrow to prevent the Kremlin spending them on its war effort, a senior US official said.

Last winter, Russian strikes left millions of Ukrainians without power or heating as temperatures dropped below zero — the crisis driving Washington's urgency.