The United States reached a separate agreement with Ukraine and Russia on Tuesday to ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea and impose a ban on attacks on each other’s energy facilities.
These agreements, if implemented, would represent the most obvious progress, but in Washington regard it as a stepping stone toward peace talks to end Russia’s three-year war in Ukraine.
The two countries said they will rely on Washington to execute the transaction.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told reporters at a press conference in Kiev.
“We will need clear assurances. Given the sad experience of the agreement with Kyiv, the assurance can only be the result of an order from Washington to Zelenskiy and his team, one thing can be done, not another.”
After the agreement reached by Saudi Arabia, U.S. President Donald Trump launched negotiations, who vowed to end the war quickly and shifted Washington’s position from a firm support for Kiev to a more sympathetic stance to Moscow.
Under the agreement with Moscow, Washington promised to help restore Russia’s entry into its agricultural and fertilizer export markets. The Kremlin said it would require some sanctions to be lifted.
Last week, the negotiations were a separate call between Trump and two presidents, Zelensky and Vladimir Putin. Putin rejected Trump’s proposal to last a 30-day ceasefire, which Ukraine had previously endorsed.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said Kiev would regard any actions of Russian military ships outside the eastern Black Sea as an invasion and threat, in which case Ukraine would have full right to self-defense.
Stop attacks on energy facilities
Throughout the war, Russia attacked Ukraine’s power grid with missiles and drones, believing that civilian energy infrastructure is a legitimate target because it contributes to Ukraine’s combat capabilities.
Recently, Ukraine has been launching a long-range strike against Russian oil and gas targets and said it fuels Russian troops and revenues to finance its war efforts.
In the early days of the war, Russia imposed a de facto naval blockade on Ukraine, one of the world’s largest grain exporters, which could exacerbate the global food crisis.
But the naval battle is only part of the war since Russia withdrew its naval forces from the Eastern Black Sea after many successful Ukrainian attacks in 2023. Despite the collapse of the previously unbranded Black Sea Agreement, Keeff was able to reopen his ports and resume exports at the pre-war level.
Trump is urging both sides to quickly end the war, a goal he promised to achieve when he ran for president last year.
Meanwhile, he is quickly reconciling with Russia, which Washington and Moscow say could lead to lucrative business opportunities.
Ukraine and its European allies fear that Trump could reach a hasty deal with Putin that undermined their security and met Russia’s demands, including Kiev abandoning its NATO ambitions and abandoning four regions that Russia calls itself. Ukraine rejected it and it was related to surrender.
