Ukraine ceasefire deal looks like a Russian wishlist tied with a US bow

A security officer stands next to a ship full of grain as it waits to sail from Odesa, Ukraine, on 29 July 2022. Photograph: David Goldman/AP

The Kremlin is pressing its advantage with a White House that is impatient to show that Donald Trump is the only leader who can deliver peace in the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine.

At first blush, the deal agreed by US negotiators in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday offers concession on concession to the Kremlin, leaving observers to question whether Russia had given anything to secure its first offer of sanctions relief since the beginning of the war.