Russia’s Pitch to Monetize Peace

By: Isabella Diaz-Ayala, December 8, 2025

A recently leaked 28-point plan for Ukrainian peace reveals a controversial decree from President Trump, calling for Ukraine to surrender eastern territories, scale back its military efforts, and indefinitely abstain from NATO membership. In a quiet Floridian home, real estate mogul Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev collaborated not only to draft this peace plan but also to devise strategies to stabilize Russia’s $2 trillion economy as part of the process.

This highly unethical meeting redefined peace as a commercial bargain rather than a political settlement, introducing economic considerations into the treaty as a form of business incentive. This dramatic pivot in U.S. political strategy aims to benefit American companies, raising concerns among Ukrainian and European governments, who fear how this dangerously transactional plan may undermine Ukrainian sovereignty.

The Russians have shown particular interest in building relations with Witkoff, a billionaire and Trump’s golfing partner, regarding him as a more trusted figure in negotiations than the White House’s Russian advisor. Dmitriev and Witkoff, both seasoned business experts, see Russia’s wealth of natural gas and oil as a basis for a mutually beneficial agenda, aiming to transform this business relationship into a trusted political partnership, a process that is currently growing exponentially.