Rebuild Gaza, Ukraine: Putin responds to Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ invite — what’s the $1bn frozen-asset offer?

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he is prepared to allow the use of Russian assets frozen in the United States to help rebuild Ukrainian regions devastated by the war, once a peace treaty between Moscow and Kyiv is concluded.

Putin also said Russia could contribute $1 billion from those US-based frozen assets to US President Donald Trump’s proposed Board of Peace, an initiative aimed at overseeing a ceasefire plan in Gaza.

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The Russian leader said the proposal has already been discussed with Washington and would be taken up further during talks on Thursday with Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, in Moscow.

“Even before we resolve the issue of participation in the Peace Council and its work, given Russia’s special relationship with the Palestinian people, I believe we could direct one billion dollars to the Peace Council from Russian assets frozen under the previous US administration,” Putin said at a meeting of Russia’s Security Council.




He added that the remaining frozen funds held in the US could be used to rebuild areas damaged by fighting after a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine is signed.

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Taken together, the proposals amount to a Russian overture aimed at appealing to the US president and averting additional economic penalties, using funds that the Kremlin currently does not control.

However, only an estimated $4–5 billion of Russia’s frozen assets are held in the US, representing a tiny fraction of Ukraine’s reconstruction needs and a small portion of the roughly $300 billion in Russian assets frozen worldwide, most of which are held in Europe.

Russia has sought to prevent further US sanctions on itself and its trading partners, even as it has shown little willingness to significantly alter its war objectives nearly four years after launching the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Trump, meanwhile, has alternately blamed both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the lack of progress toward peace, and has threatened tariffs and sanctions on Russia’s trading partners.

The two sides remain far apart on key elements of Trump’s proposed peace plan, with Moscow insisting that Ukraine cede territory it does not fully control. As the war approaches its fifth year, Russia and Ukraine continue to trade strikes on energy infrastructure, exacerbating humanitarian pressures.

In February 2025, the total cost of Ukraine’s reconstruction and economic recovery was estimated at about $524 billion over the next decade, a figure that continues to rise as Russian attacks on Ukraine’s power sector intensify, leaving millions without heat and water during winter.

Putin said he would also discuss the proposed $1 billion contribution to the Board of Peace with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whom he is scheduled to meet on Thursday.

Trump has invited dozens of world leaders to join the board, a key element of his 20-point plan for a lasting peace in Gaza, and has said permanent membership would require a minimum contribution of $1 billion.