Zelensky says US is readying huge economic deals with Russia

Kyiv: Days after negotiations to halt Russia’s war in Ukraine ended inconclusively in Abu Dhabi, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia and the United States were discussing bilateral economic agreements worth some $US12 trillion ($17 trillion), including deals that would affect Ukraine.

Zelensky said intelligence sources showed him documents that laid out a framework for US-Russian economic co-operation that he called the “Dmitriev package” – named for Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund and a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin who has been a central figure in negotiations over a potential ceasefire.

US President Donald Trump previously has dangled the possibility of sanctions relief and renewed economic co-operation with Russia as inducements for Moscow to agree to halt the war. Putin, however, has insisted that Russia would achieve its objectives in Ukraine one way or another.

Dmitriev drafted a 28-point peace plan with Trump’s envoy to the talks, Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, which included sections for gradually lifting sanctions and creating long-term economic development projects between Russia and Ukraine.

However, Zelensky, backed by European leaders and some members of Congress, has insisted that the sanctions regime against Russia must instead be tightened, to starve the Russian war machine of revenue and Western technological components.

“We are not aware of all their bilateral economic or business agreements, but we are receiving some information on the matter,” Zelensky said during a briefing with journalists on Friday, according to a transcript released on Saturday, Kyiv time.

“There are also various signals, both in the media and elsewhere, that some of these agreements could also involve issues related to Ukraine – for example, our sovereignty or Ukraine’s security,” Zelensky said. “We are making it clear that Ukraine will not support any such even potential agreements about us that are made without us.”

Zelensky’s concerns were made public as Moscow launched another major airstrike on Ukraine’s energy sector, plunging large portions of the country into darkness and cold. The attack also caused Ukraine’s nuclear power plants to reduce their power output as the “military activity affected electrical substations and disconnected some power lines”, the International Atomic Energy Agency wrote on social media network X.

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

Zelensky’s remarks come as talks to halt Russia’s war increasingly appear to be at an impasse, in particular over the question of who will control Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.

The US has proposed creating a free economic zone in Donetsk, while Putin has demanded that Ukraine surrender the entire region, including areas Russia has failed to capture militarily, even as it nears the fourth anniversary of its full-scale invasion.

Zelensky, according to the transcript, said Washington had proposed a deadline for bringing the war in Ukraine to an end “by June” and that he expected that “they will probably pressure the parties according to this timeline”.

The main concern for the Americans, Zelensky said, was the midterm congressional elections later this year.

“We understand that they will devote all of their time to domestic processes – elections, a shift in the attitudes of their society,” Zelensky said. “The elections are, for them, definitely more important. Let’s not be naive. They say they want to achieve everything by June, and they will do everything possible to ensure the war ends that way.”

Separately, US and Ukrainian officials have discussed a goal of March for reaching a deal, with national elections and a referendum on the proposed peace agreement taking place in May, Reuters reported, citing unnamed sources.

“The Americans are in a hurry,” Reuters quoted one of its sources as saying, adding that US negotiators had warned that Trump would shift his focus to the elections.

US, Ukrainian and Russian officials have met in Abu Dhabi twice in recent weeks to try to forge an agreement, but there has been no breakthrough. Still, Ukrainian negotiators say that the tone and substance of the talks have markedly improved.

Zelensky said Washington proposed that the parties meet in a week for the first time in the US – “likely in Miami”.

“We have confirmed our participation,” he said.

Meanwhile, Russia’s strikes overnight Friday into Saturday, Kyiv time, marked a continuation of its relentless aerial onslaught against Ukraine’s power plants and electrical grid.

Ukraine’s air force said Russia had launched 29 missiles and 408 attack drones at locations across the country – and that 13 missiles and 21 drones struck in 19 locations.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said in a statement on Saturday that its armed forces had carried out a “massive strike using precision-guided sea and air-launched long-range weapons” at energy and transport facilities “used in the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ interests” and “defence industry enterprises”.

However, the barrage left large swaths of the civilian population without light and heat as temperatures remained well below freezing – a regular occurrence this winter as Russia has targeted the energy infrastructure supplying the entire country.

Ukraine’s state energy grid operator, Ukrenergo, in a post on social media, said the assault was the second major attack on the entire energy system since the beginning of the year and that “energy facilities in eight regions” were struck.

Power outages occurred across the country, Ukrenergo said.

Zelensky, posting on X, said the bombardment “deliberately targeted … energy facilities on which depends the operation of Ukrainian nuclear power plants”.

“This puts at risk not only our security in Ukraine, but also the shared regional and European security,” he wrote. “We believe that partners in America, in Europe, and in other states who want peace must view this with a clear head and act accordingly.”

The Washington Post

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