The United States has secured separate agreements with Ukraine and Russia to ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea and impose a ban on attacks targeting each other’s energy facilities. These agreements, if fully implemented, would mark significant progress toward a broader ceasefire, which Washington views as a crucial step toward peace talks to end Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine. Both countries agreed to rely on the U.S. to enforce the terms. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that if Russia violates the agreement, he would ask for sanctions and additional support, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov emphasized the need for guarantees from Washington to ensure compliance from Kyiv.
These deals, reached in Saudi Arabia, were initiated by President Donald Trump, who aims to swiftly end the conflict and has shifted U.S. policy towards a more Moscow-friendly approach.
Under the deal with Russia, Washington agreed to help restore Russian access to agricultural and fertilizer markets, which the Kremlin said would require lifting some sanctions.
The agreements followed separate discussions between Trump and Presidents Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin. Although Putin rejected Trump’s proposal for a 30-day ceasefire, Ukraine has insisted that any movement of Russian military vessels beyond the eastern Black Sea would be seen as a violation and could prompt a self-defense response.
Russia has consistently targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, while Ukraine has recently launched strikes on Russian oil and gas facilities, claiming they fuel Russia’s war efforts. At the beginning of the war, Russia imposed a naval blockade on Ukraine, worsening the global food crisis. However, since 2023, following successful Ukrainian attacks, Kyiv has been able to reopen its ports and resume exports despite the collapse of a previous UN-brokered agreement.
Trump is pushing for a swift end to the war, which he promised during his presidential campaign. He is also pursuing a rapprochement with Russia, aiming to create lucrative business opportunities. However, Ukraine and its European allies worry that Trump might reach a deal that undermines their security, including potentially abandoning Ukraine’s NATO aspirations and conceding territory claimed by Russia, which Ukraine has rejected as a form of surrender.
