Trump prepares further Russia sanctions easing — Kyiv Independent

The Trump administration is offering Russia economic incentives in the hope of persuading Moscow to end the war against Ukraine.

And now Ukrainian officials fear that the US may consider striking a deal involving the Russian fertilizer industry.

The industry itself is not directly subject to US sanctions—Washington has not imposed direct sanctions on Russian fertilizers nor banned their import.

However, as one high-ranking Ukrainian official noted, such a potential deal could involve lifting restrictions on vessels, companies, banks, and individuals associated with the industry.

Russia has long sought to ease restrictions affecting agricultural exports, arguing that banking, insurance, and transportation barriers limit its access to markets.

Moscow raised this issue during negotiations on the Black Sea Grain Initiative as far back as 2022, but Western governments maintained that exports of Russian food products and fertilizers were not subject to direct sanctions.

"The fertilizer story is quite old, and Russians were trying to push it long ago. Russians always lobbied for fertilizer relief in contacts with Americans and Europeans. They actually left BSGI because of no progress on fertilizers," a Ukrainian intelligence official tells the agency.

Now Ukrainian officials fear that Washington may be prepared to offer Moscow concessions on an issue it has been trying to resolve for years.

At the same time, the potential details of the fertilizer deal remain unknown. The agency's sources did not specify any particular sanctions that Washington might lift.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin reached an agreement on the supply of Russian diesel fuel to the global market.

Meanwhile, Trump has lifted some of the sanctions against Russia.