What did Russia and Ukraine actually agree to in Black Sea truce?

When the White House said this week that it had reached an agreement between Russia and Ukraine to eliminate the use of force in the Black Sea, it looked like a breakthrough.

Then Russia listed its conditions, making it unclear what, if anything, would immediately change.

Here’s what we know.

What did the sides agree to?

Not much. The U.S. said it had agreed with Russia to ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea.

That is effectively the status quo in the Black Sea, where Ukraine has largely secured navigation by driving back Russia’s fleet and has been careful to avoid hitting Russian commercial ships. Unless the truce protects Ukraine’s ports from Russian fire, the agreement does little more than codify the existing situation.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country wouldn’t agree to the easing of sanctions on Russia.

In any case, Moscow said it would comply with a truce only after the West lifted sanctions on some of its banks, eased restrictions on Russian companies involved in food and fertilizer exports, and allowed broader port access to Russian ships carrying agricultural cargoes.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country wouldn’t agree to any easing of sanctions under a deal. “This issue was not on the agenda before the meeting," he said. “We did not agree to have this in our common statement."

Analysts said Moscow’s maneuvering seeks to take advantage of the Trump administration’s desire to broker peace to extract concessions without giving anything meaningful away.

The two sides reiterated their commitment to a moratorium on strikes on energy infrastructure, a deal the U.S. brokered earlier in March but which they each accuse the other of violating.

How does grain fit in?

The White House said as part of the deal it would help Russia gain greater access to global markets for its grain and fertilizer exports, and help restore its access to global payment systems, at least for the food and fertilizer trade.

Abolishing those restrictions, imposed by European countries, has been a long-held Kremlin demand as a means to reinserting itself into the global economy. One key pain point for Russia has been the exclusion of some of its largest banks from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, or SWIFT, a payment network for banks around the world.

Russia has continued to be a grain superpower despite Western sanctions, which avoided direct bans on the country’s food exports out of concern for fueling food inflation. The country’s grain exports reached a record 72 million tons last year, according to data from Rusagrotrans, a Russian grain-shipping company. But by insisting on the removal of restrictions on a state agricultural bank and “other financial institutions," Russia is attempting to use the grain issue to convince Washington to ease financial restrictions that are central to the sanctions regime against Moscow.

Ukraine’s exports of grain ground to a halt in the war’s early days, but have revived since Kyiv broke a Russian blockade of its ports.

What does Russian President Vladimir Putin want?

Russia is eager for an easing of the Western sanctions that have hampered its economy and partially limited its access to global markets since the start of the war. Moscow may also be seeking to widen the breach between the U.S. and Ukraine’s European allies who imposed some of the sanctions at issue.

As Trump has pushed the idea of a cease-fire, Moscow has used the talks to press for some narrow wish-list items that work to its own advantage, such as a cease-fire on energy infrastructure, which could potentially end Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil facilities.

By drawing out the negotiations, Russia is also buying time to continue clawing away at Ukrainian territory.

The Kremlin has shown zero interest in a broader resolution to the war, except on conditions unacceptable to Ukraine and its European allies. Moscow insists that Ukraine remain outside the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and that it not be able to access Western support to rearm.

Ukrainian soldiers trained using an American-made armored vehicle in Eastern Ukraine earlier this month.

What does the U.S. say?

The Trump administration had hoped to win an immediate monthlong cease-fire but agreed instead, after Trump spoke to Putin, to more scaled-down goals, including the halt to attacks on energy infrastructure and the Black Sea truce. Details on both are still being worked out.

The White House said that as part of the deal it would help restore Russia’s access to the world market for agricultural and fertilizer exports, lower maritime insurance costs, and enhance access to ports and payment systems for such transactions.

Asked whether he had agreed to the Kremlin’s demands for easing sanctions as a precondition for the Black Sea truce, Trump told reporters they were being considered. “There are about five or six conditions. We’re looking at all of them," he told reporters.

Trump later said in an interview he believed Russia sought an end to the war, but that it might be “dragging its feet," comparing Putin’s maneuvering to his own past tactics in real estate negotiations. “I’ve done it over the years. You know, I don’t want to sign a contract. I want to sort of stay in the game, but maybe I don’t want to do it quite — I’m not sure," he said in an interview with Newsmax.

Ukraine and Russia have both said they want a moratorium on strikes on energy infrastructure.

What does Ukraine get?

Ukraine appears to gain little from the agreement. Ukrainian sea drones previously drove Russia’s Black Sea Fleet away from its prized main port of Sevastopol on the occupied Crimea peninsula, opening the door to seaborne exports of Ukrainian grain.

If confined to strikes on ships, the truce would appear to benefit only Russia by limiting Ukrainian attacks on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.

Ukraine said it agreed to the deal but would defend itself if Russia sent warships into the western Black Sea.

“The Ukrainians have already defeated the Black Sea Fleet, which hasn’t really participated in the war for about a year," said George Barros, an analyst at the Institute at the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank. The cease-fire “wouldn’t change anything in the reality of the war, it just protects a few, limited ships the Russians have."

Write to Isabel Coles at isabel.coles@wsj.com and Alexander Osipovich at alexo@wsj.com