Putin Envoy Talks Post-War Energy Deals as US Weighs Belarus-Style Sanctions Plan for Russia

Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev met with US officials in Washington on Monday for talks about future US-Russia energy projects planned after Moscow’s war against Ukraine, a US government official told AFP. The Washington discussions came as Russia stepped up daytime attacks on Kyiv using fast jet-powered drones, posing a growing challenge for Ukrainian air defenses.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Russia has intensified the use of ballistic missiles and high-speed jet-powered drones against the Ukrainian capital, while shortages of US-made Patriot interceptors have complicated Ukraine’s effort to defend against the barrage, the Associated Press reported Tuesday. The contrast places the latest diplomatic contacts against a battlefield reality in which Moscow continues military operations while its representatives discuss what economic relations with Washington could look like after the war. Dmitriev’s role in the talks is also notable. As head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, he has been closely associated with Moscow’s efforts to promote potential commercial opportunities as part of a broader reset in US-Russia relations. Sanctions relief for political prisoners reportedly floated The Dmitriev talks coincided with a separate report that Trump favors a proposal under which Washington could ease some sanctions against Russia in exchange for Moscow releasing political prisoners. The proposal has been advanced by Trump envoy John Coale, according to The Atlantic, and draws directly on the approach he has pursued with Belarus. Other Topics of Interest NATO Responds to Russian Warning Over Kaliningrad, Condemns ‘Irresponsible Nuclear Rhetoric’ NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said the alliance replied to a Russian non-paper and condemned “irresponsible nuclear rhetoric" from Moscow. That model has already produced a concrete sanctions-for-prisoners exchange. On Sept. 16, Belarus released 25 prisoners following negotiations led by Coale. Those freed included journalists, human rights activists and musicians. At the same time, Washington lifted sanctions on two Belarusian companies – paint producer Lakokraska and forestry and paper concern Bellesbumprom – and pledged to return frozen Belarusian assets. Coale said hundreds more prisoners could be released within weeks, although Belarus still held 886 people classified as political prisoners at the time, according to rights monitors cited by Reuters. Belarus subsequently pardoned another 15 prisoners on Sept. 24, while negotiations with Washington over further releases and sanctions relief continued. Human rights group Viasna said 883 political prisoners remained behind bars. The Atlantic reported that Coale now wants to apply a similar formula to Russia: secure the release of political prisoners while gradually easing economic restrictions and reopening avenues for broader US-Russia commercial relations. The proposal remains at an early stage, but it would mark a significant expansion of the Belarus model if Washington were to offer sanctions relief to Russia while Moscow’s war against Ukraine continues. The White House did not directly comment on the specifics of the report. Asked about it, a US official said Trump remained “committed to continuing to play a constructive role in ending the war between Russia and Ukraine” and remained optimistic that a peace agreement could eventually be reached. Any sanctions relief for Moscow would be closely watched in Kyiv, where Ukrainian officials have repeatedly argued that economic pressure on Russia should remain in place until the Kremlin takes concrete steps toward ending the war. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.