The initiative aims to broker an energy ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv, but it has run into resistance from several European governments. In September, US envoys Jared Kushner (center) and Steve Witkoff (right) met in Moscow with Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev.
According to US, European, and Ukrainian officials, Washington is supporting the swift resumption of Russian natural gas sales to Europe through pipelines running across Ukrainian territory, hoping to use this as leverage to secure an energy ceasefire before winter sets in.
The concept was put forward by US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff during their September visits to Moscow and Kyiv. People involved in the discussions say the plan envisions an American intermediary handling Russian gas to circumvent European sanctions, while also generating substantial returns for US investors.
Under current EU law, the bloc must phase out all Russian gas purchases by the end of 2027. Leaders of major European powers have indicated they are unwilling to reestablish energy dependence on a country viewed as their primary strategic threat.
Under pressure from President Trump, Ukraine had unilaterally paused strikes on Russian refineries, and the plan was temporarily shelved last month as a result. Kyiv halted attacks on Russian refineries for nearly two weeks, but during that period Russia continued bombing Ukraine's energy infrastructure while also beginning diesel exports to the United States. Washington then shifted its focus toward a broader peace agreement.
But Ukraine restarted its air campaign last Friday, striking three large Russian refineries over the past three days. With trilateral US-Russia-Ukraine peace talks planned for Abu Dhabi in mid-November, Ukraine's renewed strikes have made reaching a comprehensive energy ceasefire an urgent priority for all parties.
So far, Russia has rejected US attempts to broker the agreement. In the view of American negotiators, if Russian gas returns to European markets, it would become powerful leverage to push President Putin toward accepting negotiations.
The Soviet-era pipeline network, which runs from the Urengoy gas field in Siberia across Ukraine to deliver gas to Europe, would also provide Kyiv with badly needed transit fee revenue if restarted. A senior US official revealed that White House officials have proposed depositing revenue from Russian gas sales into an escrow account in a third jurisdiction, ensuring the Kremlin cannot use the funds for war expenditures.
The US is trying to sell European leaders on the plan by arguing that with European gas storage at multi-year seasonal lows, restarting supplies could lower winter energy prices.
This policy stance represents a complete reversal from Trump's first term. At that time, Trump repeatedly criticized German Chancellor Merkel for advancing the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, warning that Nord Stream 2 would leave Germany "captive to Russia," and imposed sanctions on the project in late 2019.
Just over two years later, Russia relied on energy export revenue to fund its military and launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, having gambled that Europe would not respond forcefully due to its deep economic dependence. After the war began, Europe came to view its reliance on Russian gas as a strategic vulnerability in the face of a hostile state. The EU legislated sharp cuts to Russian gas imports and mandated a full ban on Russian gas purchases by the end of next year.
The current official European position: even if Russia and Ukraine reach a comprehensive peace agreement, the EU will not resume purchasing Russian gas; nor will it accept a fragile energy ceasefire that would allow Putin to continue the war and fund his military. EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen said in an October interview with Hungarian media (which the EU office has confirmed), that the ban on Russian gas imports should remain permanent. "Even if tomorrow brings the peace we all hope for, I would never trust Russia."
The Trump administration is betting that European opposition is not as firm as it appears. Some senior European officials have spoken more bluntly in private. A senior official from a Nordic country said the idea of resuming Russian gas purchases completely contradicts Europe's values; a senior official from a major European power compared the plan to former British Prime Minister Chamberlain sacrificing Czechoslovakia in exchange for a business deal with Hitler.
Meanwhile, the US believes that restarting the Nord Stream pipelines could become a key element of a grand bargain — not just to end the war in Ukraine, but also to resolve long-standing tensions between Russia and America's European allies. A senior US official assessed Merkel's mistake at the time: she pushed forward with Nord Stream without simultaneously building a broad security framework acceptable to Russia.
A US official said multiple economic proposals have been discussed during negotiations. European sides are interested in plans that could significantly lower gas prices across the continent, but any economic arrangement must be embedded within a comprehensive peace agreement.
Russia and Germany completed the first Nord Stream pipeline in 2011, designed to bypass Ukraine's transit network. Nord Stream 1 stopped sending gas in August 2022; Nord Stream 2 never entered operation. Both pipeline systems were severely damaged in underwater explosions in September 2022, which were blamed on Ukraine. Even if political and regulatory obstacles were overcome, repairing and restarting them would take a long time.
By contrast, the pipeline through Ukraine, which connects to Slovakia and then to Austria and Germany, could be restored almost immediately. After the full-scale Russia-Ukraine war began, the pipeline maintained limited flows until it was completely shut down in January 2025.
On the eve of the war, Russian gas accounted for 45% of Europe's total gas consumption; today that share is only 11%. US liquefied natural gas accounts for 30% of European consumption; Russian gas currently reaches Hungary and Slovakia via LNG tankers and the TurkStream pipeline.
European officials acknowledge that the ripple effects of Trump's military action against Iran could weaken Europe's resistance. Qatari LNG has been stranded by disrupted shipping in the Persian Gulf; even if oil transport through the Strait of Hormuz partially recovers, global energy prices remain elevated. EU data shows that due to the war against Iran, Europe has already spent an additional 100 billion euros ($112 billion) on energy.
According to EU energy regulator data, Europe's underground gas storage is currently about 75% full, and for the coming winter, storage levels will be below the average of the past nine years. Germany's main opposition party, the far-right Alternative for Germany, has made restoring imports of cheap Russian gas a core campaign platform for the 2028 election.
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