Overview

• Five sources told Reuters that officials explored incentives such as an ExxonMobil return to Sakhalin‑1, U.S. equipment for Arctic LNG 2, and even U.S. purchases of Russian nuclear icebreakers in exchange for eased sanctions tied to progress in peace talks.
• The ideas were discussed during U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff’s early‑August visit to Moscow and briefly raised around the Alaska meeting between President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin; Putin separately signed a decree loosening foreign‑participation limits for Sakhalin‑1.
• ExxonMobil, Rosneft and Novatek declined comment, and a White House spokesperson said Washington remains in close contact with Moscow and Kyiv but would not negotiate details publicly; no concrete deals have been confirmed, and Trump has warned of further sanctions and possible tariffs on India if talks stall.
• On the ground, reports noted Russia’s push into Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region with conflicting claims over village control, AFP cited Moscow’s capture of Pershe Travnja near Pokrovsk, and Ukrainian authorities reported deadly strikes and infrastructure damage in Kherson.
• Debate over postwar security guarantees intensified as EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas urged robust assurances for Kyiv, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov rejected any European troop presence and reiterated that security guarantees remain a key but unresolved issue.