Treasury eases some Russia sanctions through January 9
The carve-out is temporary and narrow, arriving as Russia and Ukraine trade heavy strikes and a Trump-Putin call is being arranged.
Published
The US Treasury has eased a set of Russia sanctions, with the relief running only until January 9.
The move comes as Trump says a call has been set up with Putin on the war. It also follows one of the conflict's largest Russian strikes on Ukraine's energy grid, which Zelenskiy said killed nine people. Russia has separately struck data centres in major Ukrainian cities, a target it had not hit before, and Moscow's mayor said 650 Ukrainian drones targeted the Russian capital region overnight on October 5. Russia's Transport Ministry has also said an unmanned vessel attacked the tanker Aframax Rio in the Black Sea, though all 23 crew were rescued.
On Tuesday, Trump said the war is getting closer to ending but still has to be "finished off," without announcing any new mechanism to do so.
The sanctions relief is narrow and time-limited, arriving amid an otherwise escalating war. It reads as a technical carve-out rather than a step toward broader de-escalation, in line with a pattern of process headlines and Trump-Putin calls that have not yet produced concrete settlement terms. Given the short window and the intensity of strikes on both sides, the measure looks more procedural than a sign that sanctions pressure on Russia is easing in any durable way. The 30-year Treasury yield hit 5.70% on Tuesday, its highest since 2002, as a selloff running since mid-September continues.