Russia Pitched US $12 Trillion Economic Deal, Zelensky Says

Russia offered the US a $12 trillion economic cooperation package, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday.

The offer, dubbed the “Dmitriev package” after Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev, who also runs Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, was identified by Ukrainian intelligence, Zelensky told journalists during a closed-door briefing.

“Intelligence showed me the so-called ‘Dmitriev package’ that he presented in the US – it amounts to around $12 trillion,” the Ukrainian president said.

“It is supposedly a package of economic cooperation between America and Russia,” he added. “So we are hearing about the possibility of such or similar bilateral documents [to be signed] between America and Russia.”

The development points to a renewed push by Moscow to court US President Donald Trump, as Ukraine and Russia continue to vie for Washington’s support while the US presses for a diplomatic settlement.

According to Zelensky, Dmitriev presented the proposal during meetings with US officials on American soil, though he did not specify when.

$12 trillion is more than quadruple Russia’s entire 2025 gross domestic product (GDP).

Dmitriev apparently presented the package while meeting with American officials in the US, though Zelensky did not say when.

Economic cooperation between Moscow and Washington has been a fixture of talks under the second Trump administration, as the Kremlin attempts to capitalize on the White House’s shift towards a more transactional foreign policy.

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A leaked 28-point peace proposal drafted last year by Dmitriev and Trump envoy Steve Witkoff – published by Axios in November – outlined steps to gradually roll back sanctions on Russia and launch long-term economic partnership initiatives, despite strong opposition from Kyiv to easing economic pressure on the Kremlin.

Also in November, The Wall Street Journal reported that US business figures had been holding clandestine meetings with Russian oligarchs linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin over potential mining and energy deals.

The talks touched on rare-earth minerals, gas extraction, and even reviving the Nord Stream pipeline, according to WSJ sources and European intelligence officials.

While bilateral economic agreements with the US are part of broader negotiations, Zelensky cautioned that any such arrangements must not violate Ukraine’s constitution.

“Probably some things in US-Russia relations do not concern us. But if they somehow affect our national interests, the Ukrainian people, our territories – then we would like to see this, so that there are no problems later, and this definitely should not happen contrary to the interests of Ukrainians,” Mr Zelensky said.

During the same briefing, Zelensky also disclosed that the White House has set a June deadline for Kyiv and Moscow to reach a peace agreement, even as talks have remained in deadlock over issues including territorial control.